Life, 1890-10-30 · page 13 of 14
Life — October 30, 1890 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humorous cartoons typical of Life's satirical style: 1. **"The Opening of the Hunting Season"** (top): Depicts mounted hunters discussing the scent of anise-seed, suggesting game is nearby. The joke likely satirizes pretentious or incompetent hunters. 2. **"At a Chicago Bar"** (right): A lawyer requests plain water from a deliberately obtuse bartender who keeps asking clarifying questions ("Of what?" "Hot or cold?"). This mocks either lawyer verbosity or bartender obstinacy, playing on Chicago's rough reputation. 3. **"A Great Invention"** (bottom): Shows a man demonstrating a "comfortable chair" with a button that somehow propels occupants upward in chaotic fashion. This satirizes overly complex mechanical "improvements" that backfire—a common target of period satire about industrial-age gadgetry. All three employ visual exaggeration and absurdist humor characteristic of early 20th-century American humor magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GETTING IT THROUGH HIS HEAD. AT A CHICAGO BAR. DRAMATIS PERSON.Y. NOWN EASTERN —Elderly. BAR-TENDER — Statu- esque. LaWyER: Will you give me a glass of water, please ? BAR-TENDER (coldly): Of what ? Lawver: Of water, please. BAR-TENDER: Anything else? Lawyer Nothing else. ER: Nothing al 2 Nothing. I only s of water. ENDER: Plain water? LAWVE mply plain water. BAR-TEN Hot or cold ? MAN Propost id Woman THE OPENING OF THE HUNTING SEASON. Poses. Dos'T YOU NOTICE A STRONG ODOR OF ANISE-SEED, Mr. Le Crtasse? I THINK ME MUST Tue man who hesitates us- HAVE RUN TO COVER NEAR HERE—" ually saves himself from loss. A GREAT INVENTION. “YES; MOST COMFORTABLE CHAIR IN THE WORLD. Now, 1F I WISI TO RECLINE AT EASE, ALL T HAVE TO DO 1S TO PRESS THIS wwe LITTLE BUTTON, AND UP SHE— comicbooks.com