Life, 1887-12-15 · page 15 of 16
Life — December 15, 1887 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, typical of 19th-century magazines. However, it contains two brief humorous anecdotes in the upper left: 1. **"Mistress" joke**: A servant (Bridget, characterized with Irish dialect) returns pasta to the grocer because each piece was empty—a play on the hollow nature of pasta tubes. 2. **"Waiter" joke**: A customer complains beer is muddy; the waiter insists the problem is the dirty glass, not the beer—a clever reversal blaming the customer's perception rather than the product. Both jokes employ working-class characters and domestic/service scenarios typical of *Life*'s humor. The surrounding advertisements (cigarettes, pianos, china, clothing) target wealthy consumers, contrasting sharply with the humble settings of the jokes—characteristic of the magazine's approach to satirizing class differences and social pretension in Gilded Age America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE™ W.S. KIMBALL &COV’S. Straight Cut Cigarettes ARE UNSURPASSED FOR PURITY, DELIGACY and EXCELLENCE, FOURTEEN FIRST PRIZE MEDALS AWARDED. | | -stusteess (arranging for dinner): Dido't the ma- caroni come from the gro- cer's, Bridget ? | Brivcet: Yis, mum, but oi sint it back, Every wan | av thim stims was impty.— New York Sun. + Warer, take away this beer; it's muddy.” THE WAITER (tvithout stirring): You are deceiv- ed, sir, It is the glass which is dirty, the beer is excellent. Taste it.—/udge. THE ENGADINE | Bouquet, Atkinson's New Per- fume. This superb distillation sweetly recalls fragrant Swiss flowers. Bright jewels in a setting of perpetual snow. Amateur Outfits, Patent Novel, Pairy and jjou Cameras. IMlastrated Catalogues Free. E. & H. T. Anthony sor Broapway, N.Y. O90 ® ANOH.LNV ‘L'H 7°3 Qenohd, Constable & Co. LADIES’ CLOTHS, Newest Colorings for Dresses, Suits and Jackets. SUITINGS AND ULSTER CLOTHS, Plaid, Fancy Check and Stripe. MEN’S CASSIMERES, DRESS CLOTHS, SUITINGS AND OVERCOATINGS. Broadway & 19th St. | New York. Oriental Carpets RUGS AND PORTIERES, In every variety, including fine, rare old specimens, for Artistic Decoratioaa, Also modera wakes, inall sees’ and | Buyers and visitors welcomed at all ‘JOSEPH WILD & CO., for Near Broadway, 82 & 84 WOKTH $7. STEINWAY THE STANDARD PIANOS OF THE WORLD! The Largest Establishment in Existence, Warerooms: STEINWAY HALL, NEW YORK. | Until ‘Christmas Messe. TIFFANY & CO. will Keep their estab- lishment open during the evenings. Union Square, New York. XMAS!! EMBROIDER A LAMP SCREEN. Artistic. Dainty. Decorative. PATENT LAMP SCREEN-HOLDER. Parexte October 19, 1884, No. 351.157 A useful and dec- orative novelty, and & one which commends itself at once to the lic, as Soon as ex- amined. The above cuts explain them- > selves. This Lamp Screen-Holder can be fastened upon a globe or shade, as in cuts A and B, the brass legs keeping the banner or screen from touching the hot globe or shade, thereby doing away with all danger of scorching or burning the screen. Price, 1s cents. Sent post-paid by mail, securely packed, oa receipt of twenty cents. Liberal = to the trade. Hand-painted Screen, including holder, 1.50 | J. B. SHEPHERD, Sole Agent, —— No. 927 Broadway. N. Y. CARDS Sicttsre2 Dicer ces rf HIDDEN NAME CARDS of Aowte settee fe emia CAPITOL EARD COMVANY, Coeatan Cube | "Thread, Cloth and Satin Covered. DRESS STAYS FINISHED IN THREE STYLES. Sale Everywhere. HAVILAND CHINA, IN Complete Sets, OR In Courses, as selected. EACH COURSE CAN BE OF A DIFFERE: DECORATION. SEND §50c. FOR A FINELY ILLUSTRATED PRICE LIST. CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. AT FIRST HANDS. Raw Oyster Plates, Soup Course, Fish Course, Game Course, Roast Course, Entrée Course, Salad Course, Ice-Cream Course, Fruit Course, After-Dinner Coffees. Frank Haviland, 14 BARCLAY STREET, ~. NEW YORK CITY. comicbooks.com