Life, 1889-12-26 · page 3 of 55
Life — December 26, 1889 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of LIFE Magazine Page **"Peter's Present"** is a humorous Christmas poem by Oliver Herford about a mischievous child who sneaks downstairs on Christmas Eve to peek at his stocking. The joke centers on Peter discovering a toy rooster in his stocking—which he promptly squeezes, causing it to crow loudly and wake the household, betraying his midnight adventure. The moral: his curiosity and mischief backfired. The top illustration depicts a snowy New Year scene with children and a large snowman marked "1890," celebrating the new decade. **"An Obscure Title"** is a brief joke about a man viewing a painting, with wordplay about unclear meanings and meeting again—the humor appears to rely on double meanings now lost to time. These are light, family-friendly pieces typical of LIFE's satirical but wholesome content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NUMBER PETER’S PRESENT. WAS the night before Christmas in Kingdom Come, The saints were in bed and their harps were all dumb, Their halos turned out (to economize gas), And their stockings hung up on the gateway of brass. Said Peter; “T'il just run around for a minute To look at my stocking and see what is in it; The good little angels are all fast asleep, And no one will know I have taken a peep.” And, lo and behold! In the dawning light dim, His stocking—apparently full to the brim! He took it down quickly, and there, if you please, Was a little toy rooster that crows when you squeeze. * ° * * As the saint hurried off in un- dignified haste, He was overheard muttering, **Confounded bad taste!" And somehow the story got round the next day, And now he don’t hang up his stocking, they say. Mr. J. Foxcroft Bagler (solitoguising): “WWEN SHALL WE AN OBSCURE TITLE. Oliver Herford, three MEET AGN?" WEALLY, LCAWN'T SEE THE POINT TO THAT. comicbooks.com