Life, 1887-06-02 · page 11 of 18
Life — June 2, 1887 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Satire and Humor in Life Magazine, Page 311 This page collects brief satirical items typical of Life's format. The main story, "The Sojourner from Jersey," uses a mosquito and ant as characters to mock New York City's summer exodus and blue laws (Sunday restrictions). The joke: even a pest finds no sustenance in Manhattan when residents flee to New Jersey. The "Scraps" section contains wordplay and topical jabs: a pun on "tempus fugit"; mockery of Chicago women as physically unattractive but athletic; and a joke about politician Chauncy Depew's name resembling "Depot." A cartoon illustration (lower right) shows a domestic scene where a boy Tommy requests his mother take him to "the same barber that cuts Mr. Brown's hair"—the humor lies in the child's innocence implying Mr. Brown's hair loss or thinness, an unstated insult delivered through a child's naive comment. The references assume readers' familiarity with contemporary figures (Depew) and local conditions (New York's summer climate, blue laws).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PICTORIAL SHAKESPEARE. “WHO KNOWS NOT WHERE A WASP DOTH WEAR HIS STING?” —Taming of the Shrew. HE Romans seemed to realize how obstinate woman could be, when they called her muzer. REMIER GOBLET, of France, is said to be quite an acrobat and a tumbler of great ability. SANS PEUR A dead cat. SCRAPS. OTHING so impresses us with the truth of tempus Sugit as having a Century come around each month. * * HE sign “ Beware the Dog” is not hung up “that he who runs may read,” but “that he who reads may run.” * * * MAN recently escaped from a Southern prison on a load of cotton. The papers stated that he got out on bail. * * * INCE Hewitt has been may- or no young men are ad- mitted to the bar on Sunday. * * * HICAGO girls may not be handsome, but they have the reputation for being decid- edly footsome. * * * HILOLOGISTS say that Chauncy Depew should be called Chauncy Depot — or the station should be the Grand Central Depew. * - LIFE: . THE SOJOURNER FROM JERSEY. NE Sunday afternoon, a New Jersey mosquito, having painfully winged its way from its native shores to the Island of Manhattan, paused on the curb- stone of desolate and deserted Broadway, and like Macaulay’s New Zealander amid the ruins of London, sent his eye abroad through the grim solitudes. An ant, who was laboriously trying to scrape up a living under that sidewalk where so many toiling thousands have failed, observed the stranger, and remarked : “You must indeed have come from a distance if you expect to find anybody here to-day. What do you seek?” “Iam only from the neighboring shores of Jersey,” replied the mosquito, “and I seek food.” “Fool!” cried the ant, “return to your native place. The greater part of the population of this city is now in New Jersey, endeavoring to forget the heat and the dust and the thirst of this unfortunate city. Don’t you know the blue Sunday laws are still in force?” And the mosquito sadly returned to his own dwelling-place. “WESTWARD THE COURSE OF TRAVEL TAKES ITS WAY.” IGGINS: How’s this, old boy; off for the West? Thought you were going to Europe. , Wicains: So I am; via Pacific Ocean and Suez Canal. too crowded for safe travel. | A to Fitz-John Porter. | We advise Fitz-J. to see to the statue himself, or else provide in his will for a | libel suit against the sculptor. 311 The Atlantic's getting GENTLEMAN who has recently died left a large sum of money for a statue Sy ~ Mrs, J.: YES, MR, BROWN, THIS HOT WEATHER IS VERY TRYING. TOMMY HAS BEEN BOTH- ERING ME ALL THE AFTERNOON TO TAKE HIM TO THE BARBER'S TO HAVE HIS HAIR CUT SHORT. Tommy: OH, YES! AND I SAY, MAMMA, TAKE ME TO THE SAME BARBER THAT CUTS MR, | BRown’s HaIR, comicbooks.com