Life, 1887-07-28 · page 1 of 16
Life — July 28, 1887 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine, July 28, 1887 The main cartoon titled "LITERAL" depicts a comedic misunderstanding involving a French tourist (labeled "American Tourist") and a hotel clerk. The tourist asks if "Mr. Rousseau" is in. The clerk responds that Rousseau is not in the city—he has gone to "Thunder in Gascony." The interpreter mistranslates this as Rousseau going to "Thunder," when the clerk meant Tonnerre, a town in Gascony, France. The satire mocks the absurdity of literal translation and the confusion arising from language barriers. The joke plays on the humor of a foreign visitor taking a French place name too literally, creating an absurd mental image. This reflects 19th-century American attitudes toward European travel and foreign language mishaps.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME X. NEW YORK, JULY 28, 1887. : NUMBER 239. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1887, by Miromut & Mize. a i | nl | LITERAL. American Tourist (to Interpreter); ASK THE CLERK IF MR, Rousseau Is 1N. Interpreter; EST-CE-QUE M. Rousseau EST CHEZ LUI? Clerk: Non, MONSIEUR. M. RoussEAU N’EST PAS EN VILLE, IL EST ALLE A TONNERRE, EN GASCOGNE. Interpreter (to A, T.): He says THAT MR. Rousseau Is NoT IN, HE Has GONE TO THUNDER IN Gascony. corey atieag e1qumoorg comicbooks.com