Life, 1887-04-14 · page 1 of 16
Life — April 14, 1887 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Bluff Game" - Life Magazine, April 14, 1887 This cartoon satirizes a negotiation between a doctor and a young patient (representing "Young America"). The doctor offers the child medicine in exchange for five cents. The child counters by proposing to take the medicine himself and pay the doctor only five cents "better"—essentially calling the doctor's bluff by suggesting he'll get the same result cheaper. The satire likely critiques either medical practitioners overcharging patients, or more broadly, American business practices of the era where shrewd negotiation was becoming standard. "Young America" represents the nation's emerging commercial shrewdness, outmaneuvering an established authority figure through clever bargaining. The title "A Bluff Game" emphasizes this was about strategic deception in commerce.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OLUME IX. 5 NEW YORK, APRIL 14, 1887. “ NUMBER 224. * Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter, i Copyright. 1887, by Mrrowent & Mruuer, s RS bi! A BLUFF GAME. Doctor: Vow, MY LITTLE MAN, YOU TAKE THIS MEDICINE AND I WILL GIVE YOU FIVE CENTS, Young America: YOU TAKE IT YOURSELF AND I WILL GO YOU FIVE CENTS BETTER, comicbooks.com