Life, 1888-10-11 · page 1 of 14
Life — October 11, 1888 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Fatal Number" - Life Magazine, October 11, 1888 This cartoon satirizes superstitions about the number thirteen. The illustration shows a woman (Amarantha) speaking with a man (Arthur) who has just proposed to her—making him the thirteenth man to propose that summer. The woman jokes that she's accepting him despite his being number thirteen, then questions whether he's superstitious. Arthur responds that he *is* superstitious, which is precisely *why* he's asking—implying he believes proposing as the thirteenth suitor will result in bad luck for their marriage. The satire mocks Victorian-era superstitions about unlucky numbers while making a tongue-in-cheek comment about marriage prospects and courtship customs of the period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NS that for ared $ at tion om, new ssrs. their and TS cent paid vith- es of rded mail rk. VOLUME XII. E prehicanys ai Sum. NEW YORK, OCTOBER 11, 1888. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1888, by Mircnete & Miter, THE FATAL NUMBER. “AMARINTHA, IN ACCEPTING ME, YOU HAVE MADE ME IMMEASURABLY Happy,” “TAM GLAD TO KNOW IT, ARTHUR, YOU ARE NOT IN THE LEAST SUPERSTITIOUS, ARE YoU?” ‘No, DARLING. Wy Do You ask?” “ BECAUSE YOU ARE THE THIRTEENTH MAN TO PROPOSE TO ME THIS SUMMER.” NUMBER 302. comicbooks.com