Life, 1889-09-05 · page 3 of 16
Life — September 5, 1889 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three separate humor pieces from Life magazine (Volume XIV, Number 349): **Top cartoon**: Shows a social gathering where "Cousin Tom" has returned from college. The joke satirizes parental anxiety—a mother worries the governor will execute a "fatted calf" for the homecoming, while the father dismisses this concern, suggesting parents' exaggerated fears about their children's college experiences. **"Explicit Directions"** and **"At Any Summer Hotel"**: These are brief comedic dialogues. The first involves directions to a baseball game; the second mocks hotel staff incompetence and references someone who "voted for Harrison" (likely William Henry Harrison, suggesting outdated politics or an absent-minded guest). The page demonstrates Life's format: mixing visual and textual humor targeting upper-middle-class social situations and domestic comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘NUMBER tw tw Miss Penelope Peachblow ; Cousin TOM HAS JUST COME BACK FROM COLLEGE, Mr. H. Pemberton Wytt: Aw, | SUPPOSE YOUR GOVERNOR WILL WANT TO KILL THE FATTED CALF. Miss Penelope Peachblow: YS, BUT DON'T GO AWAY ON THAT ACCOU EXPLICIT DIRECTIONS. AT ANY SUMMER HOTEL. TRANGER (stopping over Sunday in Kansas City): D*< (an arrival): By the way, Binthair, how's Sir, can you direct me to the ball grounds? the waiting managed here ? RESIDEN’ Cert'nly. There's Dr. Dewitt's congregation BINTHAIR (werth a sigh): Oh, the guests do all that. coming out t follow the crowd. $$ — “cr ¢ 4 4 q q a ? q q q i ¢ ead oD tO oD HO ¢s that man with the abstracted air?" SCAR WILDE will not edit Woman's World alter h-h-h, don’t disturb him; he's thinking; he September. Now is the time to subscribe. voted for Harrison.” ro SS HOD HOD 8D AO comicbooks.com