Life, 1889-08-29 · page 3 of 16
Life — August 29, 1889 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XIV, Number 348) This page contains three distinct humor pieces: 1. **Top illustration**: A domestic scene captioned "You look positively happy, Dolly" / "Negatively happy, my dear. I have just rejected Tom Barry." The satire appears to target romantic rejection and female independence—the woman's paradoxical "negative happiness" at refusing a suitor suggests commentary on women's marital choices. 2. **"His Choice"**: A poem about choosing between worldly success and romantic love, referencing "the World's Fair" (likely the 1893 Chicago World's Fair). 3. **"What It Usually Is"**: Brief jokes about the "Order of the King's Daughters" and an M.D. paradox about mints. The bottom cartoon shows a man presenting a horse to another, captioned "Putting the carte before the horse"—a pun on the phrase "putting the cart before the horse."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TE NUMBER 348 nd ex. O8 pre- ced by lice to arette y, and es are >. “YOu LOOK POSITIVELY HAPPY, Dotty.” EGATIVELY HAPPY, MY DEAR. I HAVE JUST REJECTED Tos Barry.” HIS CHOICE, HERE do you think,” said she, ‘*The World's Fair ought to be?” He drew her to his side, And hugging her replied, “I'm satisfied my dear, To hold the fair right here.” Tom Masson. WHAT IT USUALLY IS. C CRACKLE: What is the “ Order of the King’s Daughters?” r McCorKLe: Ice cream, usually, 1.50 ORIEN, 7 1 of tion. A PaRADOX—Two M.D.'s. PUTTING THE CARTE BEFORE THE “No FLIES ON ME!” ALWays making the best of things—Mints. HORSE. , comicbooks.com