Life, 1889-04-04 · page 14 of 20
Life — April 4, 1889 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several short satirical pieces typical of *Life*'s humor. The main cartoons mock social pretension and hypocrisy: **"Spring Styles"** is a fashion-advice column that parodies society reporting by mixing genuine fashion notes with absurd predictions—divorce suits worn "decolletté," fashionable dogs in muzzles, umpires with "hand-painted black eyes." It satirizes both the frivolity of fashion commentary and contemporary social issues (frequent divorces, rowdy social behavior). **The short dialogues** ridicule self-interested suitors and obliviousness: Mr. de Brazen wants only to marry for money; Smith's organ-grinder scheme is petty scheming; Winifred's friend finds grim humor in marriage as a "test" of happiness. **"Two Souls with but a Single Thought"** shows two men bonding over a joke at someone's expense—the humor lies in their conspiratorial complicity and refusal to explain themselves. The page's overall tone is gentle mockery of American social climbers, fortune-hunters, and the absurdities of fashionable society during the Gilded Age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Butcher's Dog ANYTHING BETTER THAN SUSPENSE. q INIFRED: And so Emily Tensea- sons is going to be married! I hope she may be happy. Maup: Well, at any rate, she'll have a chance to see whether she can be happy or not. A SUCCESSFUL SCHEME, ] ROWN (40 Smith, who ts standing very near an organ-grinder's elbow): What is the matter, Smith? Have you gone into partnership with Garibaldi? Smitu: No; he’s hitched his machine on to my Waterbury, and is winding it up. It's a scheme of my own, Brown, and works like a charm. A CONTENTED MIND. pa (that #s to be): What are your prospects, Mr. de Brazen? Mk. DE BRAzZ Merely that of being your son-in-law, sir. I don’t want anything better. RESIDENT HARRISON has shaken 42,000 and 9,143 office-seekers. Soy, BoNesty, GIT ON TER LitTtie LoxD FAUNTLEROY, WILL YER? SPRING STYLES. IVORCE SUITS will be worn decolletté, as usual, Heavy overcoats will not be worn after June ist. Spring poetry comes in four line verses this year. Trousers are worn still, except the very loud patterns, White duck trousers will be the thing for yacht- ing. Canvas-back duck has gone out. Large hats will be fashionable after a night with the boys. When invited to dine with Chauncey M. Depew, be sure to wear a swallow-tale coat. No change in their crowns will be made by the iron kings this summer. Fashionable dogs will wear muzzlin’ in July and August. The ear-mufl is no longer worn by really fash- ionable people. Appointments this season are cut @ /a Repub- lican. The largest diamonds will be found on the baseball grounds. Umpires will wear hand-painted black eyes. Wm, H. Siviter, TWO .OULS WITH BUT A SINGLE THOUGHT. Brown: How vo, Jones? Jones: How po, Brown? Brown Jones Jones Brows WON'T SAY ANYTHING; I WAS A BOY ONCE, MYSELF, (aside): WELL THAT'S A GOOD JOKE ON put I comicbooks.com