Life, 1888-07-12 · page 12 of 14
Life — July 12, 1888 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Humor Page Analysis This page from *Life* magazine presents a collection of brief comedic vignettes typical of early 20th-century American humor. The jokes rely on wordplay, situational comedy, and social observation: **Key humor includes:** - **"A Little Confused"**: Sibling misunderstanding about cricket sounds (the insect versus not knowing its song) - **"In Trinity Steeple"**: A beetle-spider exchange pun about "catching flies" (insects vs. the sport) - **"Hard Pressed"**: Time-management joke comparing a busy man to an Egyptian mummy - **"Back Far Enough"**: A woman's genealogy research ends when discovering an ancestor was hanged for horse theft—a joke about social climbing and family secrets - **"Congratulating Themselves"**: Dark humor from undertakers noting an "epidemic of the mind-cure" (likely referring to Christian Science) as good for business The page also includes illustrated vignettes about fashion, melancholy (indigestion), and an accidental romantic moment interrupted by a tree and moon alignment. The humor is gentle, pun-based satire aimed at middle-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A LITTLE CONFUSED. Jack: Sis, WHAT IS THAT PUNNY LITTLE NOISE DEAR ALL DAY ? Sis: Way, Jack, You TELL ME THAT YOU DON'T KNOW THE CRICKET'S SONG ? Jack: REALLY! THEY NEVER SIN THAT'S A CRICKET! DON'T MEAN TO WHEN I stt ON THEM. IN TRINITY STEEPLE. **\7 OU should be a baseball player,” said the beetle to the spider. “ Why so ?” inquired the latter. “You're so good at catching flies.” “ True, but I'd fall a victim to the fowls.” And he went behind the bat. MELANCHOLY. E (tenderly): You are melancholy to-night, my dar- ling. SHE (with a sigh): Ah yes, George dear; I fear it is the croquettes I ate at dinner. A VICTIM OF FASHION. Barty CALLER: “ Peter, is your master down yet?” “No suh; he ain't down.” “Came home in his usual condition, | suppose ?"* “Yassuh, but when he tuk off his shoes lass night he leaned up agin de curt’n whar de do’ used to be, an’ he done feel bad dis mawnin.” L’ENVOI. With her Forgotten Gloves, | OUR Gloves I send ; | I did intend | To fake ‘em. | ‘* Needless offense” (Said Prescience) “*To take ‘em: | ‘* For wait and she A gift, scot free, Will make 'em : “The maidens so Let lovers know They shake ‘em.” | HARD PRESSED. 7 F anybody was ever more pressed for time than I am I'd like to see him.” “There's such a fellow on exhibition at the museum.” “Who is he?” “ An Egyptian mummy.” BACK FAR ENOUGH. OO I NTERESTED in genealogy?” he asked the St. Louis young lady at the garden party. “I was,” she said. “ How far back did you go?” “Oh, until 1 found pa’s uncle had been hung for horse stealing,” CONGRATULATING THEMSELVES. IRST UNDERTAKER: Well, we can’t complain much of dullness of business. SECOND UNDERTAKER: No, it is true we have no chol- era or yellow fever this summer, but there's a very encourag- ing epidemic of the mind-cure in places. “AND NATURE SMILED.” THE ABOVE COMBINATION OF THE TREE AND THE MOON WAS $ PURELY ACCIDENTAL, BUT IT DAMPENED THE ARDOR OF THE LOVERS FOR THAT EV) ING. comicbooks.com