Life, 1887-06-02 · page 5 of 18
Life — June 2, 1887 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis The main illustration depicts a scene in what appears to be a shop or business establishment. A customer (likely a woman, based on the era's clothing) stands at a counter with a dog, while shopkeepers or clerks stand behind it. The accompanying dialogue—"LABELLUS FECIT VINUM" (Latin: "The label made the wine")—suggests satire about commerce and deception. The joke appears to critique how product labels or branding can oversell inferior goods. The customer seems to be complaining about wine quality, with clerks offering alternatives like "sherry" instead of the requested "port." The satire mocks how merchants rely on attractive labeling and marketing rather than actual product quality to make sales—a commentary on consumer fraud and commercial dishonesty common in the period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE THE GENIAL WARMTH OF SPRING POETRY. | UITE late was spring and cold my feet, The register was lacking heat, And very cool I found my seat For early spring. Shiv'ring I sat, when my two eyes Lit on a paper of great size, Full of news and many lies, And I grasped the thing. I had been very often told That paper would keep out the cold, So I hastened to unfold The timely sheet. A verse poetic printed there, By Ella Wheeler Wilcox, fair, Was so warm it singed my hair And warmed my feet. Clarence Stetson. THE PHILOSOPHY OF ETIQUETTE. FORMULATED FOR THE COMPREHENSION OF THE OBTUSE WITH AN APPENDIX OF ARBITRARY RULES FOR BEGINNERS, |. Don’t allow your guest to become embarrassed. If he should break a champagne glass, immediately contrive to smash the epergne yourself. This conduct will put your guest in counte- nance, and will also develop powers of endurance in your wife. . Don't be flurried. If you should find that you have just been disparaging a near relative of your host, continue the subject vigorously until you shift the embarrassment from yourself to your host. . Don’t, while visiting, be languid or taciturn, little animation to get up and go home. It is not chivalrous to boycott the Don't have too . Don’t wear soiled linen. laundry-woman, . Don’t nap in church. You are liable to snore, and it would be inconsiderate to awaken other members of the congregation. Don’t write anonymous communications. If you feel a hesi- tancy in signing your own name, use that of a friend. In writ- ing cheques, this practice is now sanctioned by the best usage. . Don’t fail, as host, to follow a departing visitor to the hall door. You are responsible for the hats and umbrellas of the callers who remain. . Don’t smoke in public conveyances. Some fellow-traveler might ask you for a cigar. . Don’t shake hands with every person present. submitted to the President of the United States. . Don’t hesitate to drink water during meals, no matter what may be said to the contrary. Some articles of food need to be put out. . Don’t fly into a towering passion with the waiter at a watering- place, and throw crockery. He might prove to be a Harvard or Yale man, whose challenge you could not decline. Respectfully |. Don’t leave the theatre just before the curtain falls. Everybody ~ does; remain and avoid the crowd. . Don't appear in evening dress on any occasion before six P. M. Otherwise the inference in polite society is that you didn’t come home till morning. . Don't notice or invite attention to the infirmities of others. Don't call on the mute for an after-dinner speech. LABELLUS FECIT VINUM. Patron (to Druggist): 1 WANT SOME OLD PORT FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. Druggist (to Assistant): JIMMIE, HAVE THOSE PORT LABELS COME OVER FROM THE PRINTER'S YET? Jimmie: No, sir. Druggist (to Patron): SORRY, SIR, BUT WE HAVEN'T ANY. Patron: BUT WHAT HAS THE LABEL GOT TO DO WITH IT? Druggist : EVERYTHING, SIR, IN OUR BUSINESS—EVERYTHING ! STILL, IF YOU'RE NOT PARTICULAR; I CAN GIVE YOU A LITTLE WITH THE SHERRY LABEL. XV. Don't fail to apologize whenever you inconvenience others. If you happen to be standing on a gentleman's head in a panic, don't forget to say, “‘ Excuse me.” RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED TO SEARCHERS FOR SOCIAL CULTURE WHO USE THE INQUIRY COLUMNS OF THE PRESS, |. Don't stir your coffee with your fork, or stick your spoon into the beef. . Don't rest your elbows in your plate, or in any dish. . Don't, in carving, stab with the fork, or do anything that will suggest cruelty. . Don’t forget to carry food to the mouth with an inward curve of the fork or spoon. No calisthenic flourishes over the shoulder or around the head are permissible. . Don’t tuck your napkin under the chin, and don’t carry away the ring. . Don’t come to lunch in your shirt sleeves, and don’t retire in your dress-coat. . Don't talk when your mouth is full. Mem. : . Don’t fail to keep your Manual of Etiquette lying open for easy reference during meals. : Keep it full. Eureka Bendall. A WESTERN poker-player who was caught withs a couple of aces up his sleeve, explained that the mustard plaster on his back must have drawn them there. comicbooks.com