Life, 1889-05-23 · page 9 of 20
Life — May 23, 1889 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Joseph Jefferson as Actor and Family Man This page from *Life* magazine features a biographical article and photograph of **Joseph Jefferson**, a prominent 19th-century American actor. The text discusses Jefferson's career, noting he was born in Philadelphia and became famous for stage performances across American cities where English and American are spoken. The photograph shows Jefferson in what appears to be a domestic scene with family members, including a child. The caption "A Fire-Escape—Timely Resignation" suggests satirical commentary, likely mocking either Jefferson's acting choices or a recent retirement decision. The article acknowledges both his talents and the "drawbacks" in considering him for certain social recognition, indicating debates about actors' social status during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
who who -of- 1 his rless > hotel leman th the JOSEPH JEFFERSON. HE only flaws that can be found in the career of Joseph Jefferson lie in the untoward circumstance that he is an actor and that he was born in Philadelphia; and, as a corollary that magnifies the former proposition, it may be mentioned that he is not only an actor himself, but that he chose a father and a grandfather in the profession, and has brought up his son to the stage, and that the mother of his choice was a distin- guished voca Perhaps, if we may believe the Darwinian law of heredity and environment, Mr. Jefferson is not as culpable, in view of the circum- stances, as if he had gone on the stage from the bosom of a Methodist or Presbyterian parentage, and yet we fear that will find some diffi- culty in making a satisfactory expla- nation when the Recording Angel begins to ¢ fine work at the Judgment Day. Joseph Jefferson was born on the twentieth day of February, in the year 1829, and, the news reaching Phila- delphia about the time he achieved sufficient age to do an infant prodigy act, of the tea incident in Boston Har- bor, he was led to take his parents to that city, where he made his first ap- pearance on any stage. In the half- century succeeding he has played in almost every town of more than ten thousand inhabitants where the American and English languages are spoken. Of course, there are those who deny to Joseph Jefferson the gift of genius, and we are compelled to admit that they make a strong argument against him, For instance, Mr. Jefferson has never figured prominently in the courts in scandal cases; he does not make triumphal progresses down Broadway in an Inverness cape on these warm spring afternoons; he has never threatened to cowhide a dramatic critic, and does not consider that these gentlemen are a purchase- able commodity; he is not in debt, and he lives with his family when not professionally engaged. It is hard to overcome these drawbacks in con- sidering Mr. Jefferson's claims to recognition as the first comedian of his age and time, and yet we are in- clined to consider that such eccen- tricities do not entirely invalidate his right to the place that his friends de- mand for him. FIRE-ESCAPE — Timely resignation. LIFE'S GALLERY OF BEAUTIES. JOSEPH JEFFERSON.