Life, 1890-02-06 · page 1 of 18
Life — February 6, 1890 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine, February 6, 1890 This page features a satirical cartoon titled "REQUISITES FOR A THEATRE PARTY." The illustration shows a well-dressed couple at a grand entrance, with the woman expressing frustration about attending the theater. The dialogue reveals the joke: she wants to invite the "Bradgon-Ivers" to a show, but her companion protests they're "not very talkative." Her response—that she finds them "not very talkative" an advantage because "I am so hoarse I can't talk above a whisper myself"—satirizes social pretense and the empty chatter typical of high-society theater outings in 1890s New York. The ornate border and elaborate title treatment typical of *Life* magazine's design frame this commentary on upper-class manners and the theater as a social performance venue, where being seen matters more than genuine conversation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XV. NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 6, 1890. NUMBER 371. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1890, by Mrrcneit & Miter. prehicany, is SVM. 8. United free. York. ccok- uces flavor erfect- icious imates equal y sort ASE ‘ : REQUISITES FOR A THEATRE PARTY. He: Let's GO TO THE THEATRE TO-NIGHT, AND ASK THE BRAGDON-IVERS TO GO WITH Us. Do YOU THINK I'D BETTER GET A BOX? The Bride: Ot, NO, DON'T GET A BOX. WHAT'S THE USE OF IT? THE BRAGDON-IVERS ARE NOT J = VERY TALKATIVE YOU KNOW, AND I AM SO HOARSE I CAN'T TALK ABOVE A WHISPER MYSELF. oklys. aT, 1858. comicbooks.com