Life, 1890-06-26 · page 1 of 15
Life — June 26, 1890 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine, June 26, 1890 This page contains a satirical cartoon titled "NOT HAPPILY EXPRESSED" depicting a social awkwardness between a suitor and a young woman's father. The scene shows a gentleman caller departing while the father delivers a cutting remark. The suitor (apologetically) explains he lacks independent means, and the father responds sarcastically that this makes perfect sense—otherwise he wouldn't presume to ask for the daughter's hand in marriage. The satire targets the economic realities of late 19th-century courtship, where a suitor's financial stability was essential for marriage approval. The cartoon mocks both the awkward social convention and the father's pointed reminder that a poor man has no legitimate claim to court his daughter. It reflects class-conscious attitudes about marriage and economic dependency prevalent in the Gilded Age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OLUME Xv. NEW YORK, JUNE 26, 1890. Botered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter Copyright, 1890, by Mircwett & Mitise. NUMBER 991. ted light fy Jackets, 1 Tennis ited. eA can personal es aS aft Re 4 v BROLA TON NOT HAPPILY EXPRESSED. Opulent Pater: OF YOUR OWN. Suitor (apologetically) : DAUGHTER, You WILL EXCUSE MY SAYING IT, BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT MEANS THAT 18 TRUE, SIR, OTHERWISE I WOULD NOT THINK OF ASKING YOU FOR YOUR comichooks.cong)