Life, 1888-04-12 · page 1 of 16
Life — April 12, 1888 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "For a Game Dinner" - Life Magazine, April 12, 1888 The bottom cartoon presents a domestic joke about procurement. A young housekeeper asks a butcher whether he has canvas-back ducks. The butcher replies he has only geese, prompting the housekeeper to suggest sending a canvas-back goose instead. The humor relies on wordplay: "canvas-back" refers to a specific, prized duck species (valued for game dinners), but the butcher's substitution of a goose—a comically inferior alternative—misses the mark entirely. The satire mocks either the butcher's incompetence or the housekeeper's naive acceptance of an absurd compromise, reflecting Victorian-era anxieties about servants, shopping, and maintaining proper social standards through refined dining.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1888, by Mrrcumi, & Mitier. treme aking ope Lace f y t TN IE,” g we e, oF outer d star ors, t roll. d and | dated FOR A GAME DINNER. Young Housekeeper: HAVE YOU CANVAS-BACK DUCKS ? Butcher: No, But I HAVE SOME NICE GEESE. Young Housekeeper: VERY WELL, YOU MAY SEND A NICE CANVAS-BACK GOOSE. comicbooks.com