Life, 1889-08-01 · page 11 of 16
Life — August 1, 1889 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 67 This page contains several humorous vignettes satirizing summer life and American regional peculiarities: **"A Summer Paradox"** jokes about reversed social dynamics at the seaside. **"A Secret Worth Knowing"** depicts a dialogue about a young man's abstinence from alcohol—presented as oddly noteworthy, satirizing either temperance advocates or the rarity of non-drinkers. **"Sam Steddlehead"** and **"Billy Blankwains"** are comic character exchanges using exaggerated dialect (possibly meant to represent regional speech patterns), though the specific references are unclear. The illustrations show seaside and rural scenes typical of 1890s-era American leisure activities. **"Oklahoma City's Plate-Glass Window"** references that town's frontier character, humorously noting a saloon's safety precaution against gunfire. **"In New Jersey"** offers brief coded dialogue ("How's yer chills?" / "Awful") whose specific meaning is unclear today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: 67 A SUMMER PARADOX, ESIDE the sea, where men are few, Things are reversed, beyond dispute ; For as each bather meets his view, The lover smiles upon her suit. A SECRET WORTH KNOWING. ee OUNG MAN," said the long-haired passen- ger to the occupant of the seat ahead, “ Do you know that I've never spent a dollar for liquor in my whole life?” “ Really?" responded*the young man turning half- way round with a-look of great interest on his face, “How do you work it?” AM STEDDEHEAD: I don't understand what / ails my watch;. it has lost two minutes in two - days. deah bawhy; mawn’s awlways wawn day bawhawnd. Sam: One day behind ? BILLY: Yaws—aw! Aw fawgawt taw wawnd thaw thing awp wawn noight awnd it nevaw cawght awp awgain, yaw knaw. BILLY BLANKBWAINS: Aw! Thawt's nawthing, : WE HAVE RECENTLY INTRODUCED A NEW FIRE EXTINGUISHER IN ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS. KLAHOMA CITY has its first plate-glass window. It is in the front of the Golden Bull-dog saloon and bears the following inscription: ‘ Gentle- men will please not stand in front of this window while being shot at.” IN NEW JERSEY. “ How'RE YER CHILLS?” “AWFUL.” “SO ARE MINE.” “SHAKE.” IT IS ALSO OF GREAT VALUE IN COOLING OFF OUR POETS IN SUMMER. (They shake.) comicbooks.com