Life, 1889-05-09 · page 12 of 18
Life — May 9, 1889 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page contains several satirical vignettes typical of early 20th-century American humor: **"House Hunting"**: A joke about a woman (Mrs. Tab) seeking to rent a house but suspicious of a bootlegger tenant ("that bootjack looks very suspicious"). **"In the Studio"**: Rural dialect humor where Aunt Roxy Pippin critiques her nephew's painting of *The Taming of the Shrew*, noting the male figure needs clothes ("pants") and is indecently exposed ("ain't fit tew be seen"). **"A Long Ceremony"**: A father complains about his daughter's suitor overstaying during a call, suggesting they play billiards while waiting. **"Indian Civilization"**: A brief editorial jab questioning whether Native Americans can be "civilized," contrasting their debt-paying customs with Euro-American standards. **"In Training"**: A baseball catcher requests softer hands-conditioning before the season. The humor relies on class commentary, dialect stereotyping, and mild social observation typical of period satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ce HERE is some tall lying done on Chicago,” remarks an exchange. Yes, and not only-tall, but fat as well, and big and robust in every way. HOUSE HUNTING. THE OLD STORY. Mrs. Tab: Ves, MY DEARS, | LIKE THE MOUSE VERY MUCH, RUT THAT wooT- — Puler: AM, MY NOY, YOU'LL NEVER BE JACK LOOKS VERY SUSPICIOUS, THE MAN I WAS AT YOUR ace. IN THE STUDIO, UNT ROXY PIPPIN (examining a copy of “The Taming of the Shrew"): An’ dew yeou mean tew say yeou hev bin a-paintin’ on thet pictur’ all summer ? Copat: Yes, Auntie; I'll have it finished to-morrow. I'll give it a thin coat of varnish. AuNT Roxy Pippin: Yes, I guess yeou'd better give et er coat o’ some kind, and pants, tew. Sakes alive! Thet F; / feller thet’s jest wakin’ up, ain't { fit tew be seen, nohaow ! why tN (ie —_——-— .,f1. LONG CEREMONY. a Bu not wait for Char- lie any longer. You know what it is when a fellow is calling on his girl.” “Ah, there they are now! He is just bidding her good- night.” “All right; let us go and have a game of billiards. We'll just have time.” IN’ ARAINING: Professional Baseball Catcher : STRIKE MARDER, DEMPSEY; MY HEN an Indian dies his relatives pay his debts. And HANDS ARE A LITTLE SOFT AND I WANT TO BE READY TO HOLD yet some people think Indians can be‘civilized. THE BALL WHEN THE SEASON OPENS. comicbooks.com