Life, 1887-12-15 · page 5 of 16
Life — December 15, 1887 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 345 This page contains a satirical advertisement for "The United States Best-Man Company," a fictional service offering to hire professional "best men" for weddings. The ad humorously addresses the growing commercialization of American social rituals. The accompanying illustration titled "After All" depicts a domestic scene where a man learns his sister has accepted a marriage proposal from his brother Charles. The caption presents this as a resignation to inevitable social circumstances. The satire targets the commodification of personal milestones—suggesting that even intimate social roles like "best man" have become purchasable services in modern America. This reflects late-19th/early-20th-century anxieties about capitalism's encroachment into traditionally personal and familial domains.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE UNITED STATES BEST-MAN COMPANY E ITHERTO, at American Weddings, the position of ‘* Best Man” has been given to some particular friend of the groom, and this gentleman, being in- experienced, has frequently made a sad mess of what should be a very happy occasion. The organization of capitalists above referred to proposes to remedy this. It has a corps of trained young men, ready to respond at an hour's notice to calls from any part of the country, Our * Best Men” will take entire charge of marriages—engage the carriages, see to the decorations, keep the groom sober, button the bride’s gloves, and pay the parson. WALTER. ‘LIFE: A NEW ENTERPRISE. The Company's scale of charges for these services vary in proportion to the amount of work to be done and the social status of the parties. The charge for a wedding in which there is a disparity of forty or fifty years in the ages of the bride and groom, or when the "Best Man” enjoys the rank of Colonel, will be $190 and traveling expenses, Ordinary weddings will be directed for prices varying from $25 to $100 and expenses. An additional charge will be made for occasions where the bride is freckled, Estimates furnished on application. See our prices and press notices before engaging your “Best Man.” After using our methods you will use no other. Satisfaction guaranteed, AFTER ALL. T SHALL ALWAYS RE A sIs—" 0 YOU Won" \ DUR BROTHER CHARLES PROPOSED TO ME 345 Special Rates to Mormons and Chicagoans. A Liberal Commission allowed to Cler- gymen who secure us business, Gentlemen contemplating divorce and frequent re-marriages should consult our WHOLESALE_RATES, or purchase a Com- mutation Ticket, good for five cere- monies, one number of which will be punched out as each event occurs, N.B.—A Certificate of Sanity goes with each “Best Man.” Address all communications to THE U. S. BEST-MAN CO., PITTSBURGH, Pa. WM. H. SIVITER, Manager. ST NIGHT AND I ACCEPTED HIM. comicbooks.com