Life, 1887-05-05 · page 12 of 16
Life — May 5, 1887 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 254 Satirical Content This page contains multiple brief humorous pieces typical of Life's satirical format: **Main cartoon**: Shows a church wedding scene where "De Crescendo," a tenor, suspects his wife of flirting with the double-bass player, acting jealously accordingly—a musical pun on marital discord. **Recurring jokes**: - A malaprop-style piece mocking affected speech (Mrs. Malaprop, a character type from Sheridan's *The Rivals*) - Regional stereotyping: a Cincinnati-Boston marriage joked as a union of "pork and beans" (regional food associations) - Criticism of Anthony Comstock, the famous anti-obscenity crusader, portrayed as seeing indecency everywhere, even in classical art like the Parthenon friezes and Venus de Milo—suggesting his prudishness is absurd **Bottom panels** ("The Missing Link"): Three wordless cartoon panels showing dogs, likely visual gags about human-animal behavior. The page satirizes contemporary figures (Comstock), regional stereotypes, and literary pretension through brief, punchy jokes—Life's characteristic format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A PIECE OF VOL POETRY. SOLDIER once fought in Ky., In a manner exceedingly ply.; ““Tho’ I rank as a Col.,” He wrote in his jol., “If I live through this war, I am ly.” “cc O,” said Mrs. Malaprop sadly, “1 knew that girl couldn’t live; it was like seeing a flower fade away—pellet after pellet falling off.” A FITTING UNION. “ VERY appropriate wedding took place in Boston the other day,” re- marked Staggers; “a Cincinnati man mar- ried a Boston girl.” “What was there so appropriate about that,” asked Scroggs. “A union of pork and beans, you see.” OMPARED with some hotel bell-boys, the distance covered by the drifting Sandy Point bell-buoys is insignificant. IDER HAGGARDshould have named his last story Hzgh Noon instead of Dawn, for all who have read it agree that it is very light. CRANK OR HYPOCRITE? R. ANTHONY COMSTOCK can see i a nastier meaning in an innocent work of art than any adult of our acquaint- ance. Whatever suggests the human form is, to this man, an indecent thing, and had he held office in the days of Phidias, he would have delighted in “ suppressing” the friezes of the Parthenon. What a magnifi- cent contempt he must have for the licen- } i WN i | tious brute who created the Venus of Milo! AAT S between the Jubilee and the Wild DE CRESCENDO, OUR TENOR, HAS A SUSPICION THAT Mrs, DE CRESCENDO IS West Show the Queen is said to have INCLINED TO FLIRT WITH THE DOURLE-BASS, AND HE ACTS ACCORDINGLY. a marked preference for the Buffalobillee. A MONUMENT TO DEPARTED WORTH. “cc M’* goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Way- back, stopping in front of the Worth monument, “he’s dead, is he? Wall, 1 declare; what'll the York ladies do fur dresses now, I wonder!” And then she moved on to the next curiosity. AN wants but little here below, and he generally gets it. THE Misstnc Link. comicbooks.com