Life, 1887-10-13 · page 12 of 16
Life — October 13, 1887 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political and Social Satire from Life Magazine This page contains multiple satirical pieces mocking contemporary concerns: **Top cartoon**: Features Irish immigrants (identifiable by dialect and names like "Dennis Toogan"). Toogan claims his ill-fitting English suit represents "latest fashions"—satirizing working-class pretension and immigrant aspiration to appear fashionable despite obvious absurdity. **"He Was Busy"**: Mocks the overworked businessman obsessed with self-improvement. Scribule is too busy with tedious tasks (financial reports, store visits, historical research) to accept social invitations—satirizing the exhausting, joyless American work ethic and performative productivity. **"Echoes of the Race"**: Ridicules the recent yacht race between the Scottish *Thistle* and American *Volunteer*. The passages mock the *Thistle's* poor performance, suggesting it's useless and sarcastically proposing the Scottish team deserved their "blanket" defeat on a cold day. **"Another Coolness at the Castle"**: A pun-filled joke about British royalty's excessive spending, playing on "wet rain" vs. "reign" and mocking the heir's criticism of royal expenditure.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mrs. Dennis Toogan: DINNY, FER TH’ LOVE O° SAYNT PATHRICK, PHWAT IN HIVVEN'S: NAME'S THAT? Dennis Toogan (member of City Council): AN, WHISHT NOW, AN’ DON'T BE SHOWIN’ VER THIM's THE VIRRY LATEST INGLISH FASHIONS, IGNORANCE, WAN 0! ME SUMMER SHUITS MADE IN THOT SHTOYLE. SHTOYLE 0! LEG. ECHOES OF THE RACE. HERE'S many a fizzle 'Twixt the cup and the 7histle, . . . RITONS are proverbially dull of comprehension, and Messrs. Bell and Watson are no exception to the rule. “They don’t understand it, The Thistle was designed to win the cup and didn’t. The plans were all right, but—some- thing was wrong.” We are forced to the conclusion that the 7/zst/e is more of a paper cutter than a fleet-winged child of the sea. . . . HE Thistle is to challenge an Erie canal boat to a race to Liverpool, stern first, for a silver bottle. . . . OW we think the New York Yacht Club should get up a testimonial to Boston for producing two such men as General Paine and Mr. Burgess. How would it do to turn over the America’s cup to those who have won it? OM THINKIN’ O° HEVVIN THE TROWSERS 1S SHORT FER MOI HE WAS BUSY. OPPER: Come up and dine with me this evening, Mr. Scribule. ScRIBULE: Thank you very much, Topper, but I really can’t ; I have got to devote this even- ing to the last Financial Report of the Western Union Tele- graph Co, Topper: Well, come up Sun- day, then. SCRIBULE: Impossible! I've promised to go over to Phila- delphia on Sunday to get a private view of Wannamaker's big store. Then I've got to read over the Poultry record for last month, as well as make a list of the steamship accidents that have occurred since 1824. Topper: What is all this work for, anyhow ? SCRIBULE: Well, you mustn’t let it go farther, but the fact is I'm writing a life of Thomas Jefferson for one of the maga- zines, ONSIDERING the price of fashionable bonnets, we begin to think the word “ mil- lionaire” is but a corruption of milliner, HE races between the Thzstle and Volunteer are not at all satisfactory. It is by no means certain that in a dash down a toboggan chute the Boston boat could compete with her defeated rival. . . . HE TAzstie isn't much of aboat. Captain Barr even had difficulty in keeping ahead of the excursion barges. . . . HE Scotchmen complain that they were blanketed. Well, why not? It was a cold day and they needed it. ANOTHER COOLNESS AT THE CASTLE. “a M’* !" said Her Majesty impatiently, as she gazed out of the window at the torrents of water, “ What a wet rain this is!" “ Pretty dry reign you mean,” retorted the Prince. Then Her Royal Highness rushed up to the jewel room and got her wine receipts, which showed an expenditure of over £10 per annum, and flouted them in the face of her hypercritical heir. \ comicbooks.com