Life, 1889-01-31 · page 12 of 18
Life — January 31, 1889 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Elevated Painter and the Playful Dog" This satirical story mocks **Jay Gould**, the notorious Gilded Age railroad magnate and financier, portrayed as a con artist and swindler. The narrative depicts a confidence game: a well-dressed man ("little Tom Bunco," referencing con-artist slang) befriends a banker's son and invites him to a card game, where accomplices fleece him of money. When someone yells "That's Jay Gould!" everyone panics—suggesting Gould's reputation as a ruthless businessman who destroys fortunes through manipulation and fraud. The punchline equates Gould with a thief who steals not just money but clothes and property through foreclosure and legal maneuvering. The cartoon satirizes how Gould's wealthy elite status allows him to operate with impunity, committing larceny through corporate mechanisms rather than street crime—making him more dangerous than ordinary con men. The bottom item, "An Appropriate Costume," is unrelated wordplay about formal attire for opera.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ELEVATED PAINTER AND THE PLAYFUL DOG. “T left Oshkosh several days ago,” he said; “ but you will pardon ine if I fail to remember you.” “What! don’t you remember me? I'm the boy you used to know as little Tom Bunco, the son of John G, Bunco, President of the First National Bank of Oshkash.” . “Why, of course I remember you now,” said the little black-bearded man, shaking the other’s hand heartily. ‘How are your father and mother?" “They were doing quite nicely when I heard from them last,” responded the younger gentleman; “but have you anything particular on hand for this morning? 1 have just won a valuable oil-painting in a lottery, and would like to have you take a look at it.” The iittle black-bearded man happened to have nothing on hand for that morning, and he readily accompanied his newly-found friend to a rather shabby building in East Tenth Street. Here several more. well-dressed young men were found, and a game of cards was proposed. The son of the Oshkosh banker had soon won several hundred dollars, and the little man with the black beard was regarding the players with much eagerness depicted on his countenance when a further nice young man entered the room. So soon as he caught sight of the little black-bearded man he threw up his hands and screamed : “Great Heavens, boys! Run for your lives!’ That's Jay Gould!” A wail of anguish rose to the ceiling, and Tom Bunco and his friends made a desperate effort to escape. Five minutes afterward their watches and pocket-books were in Jay Gould's possession ; a mortgage had been foreclosed on the building ; the store and furniture removed under a writ of execution; the books and cards sold for waste-paper; and the little man with the black beard was on his way to Baxter Street with the clothes of Mr. Bunco and friends over his arm.’ AN APPROPRIATE COSTUME. M® S.: Shall we call on the Wetherbee's 4 to-night, my dear? Mrs. S.: No; I have nothing to wear. Mr. S.: Oh, then we'll go to the opera. comicbooks.com