Life, 1890-11-06 · page 13 of 18
Life — November 6, 1890 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon depicts a domestic scene where a child named Little Elbridge insults his own father's appearance. When his aunt compliments the baby as "the living image of his father," Elbridge responds that everyone says he takes after his father—but then adds a cutting remark about his father's unflattering appearance ("that pudge-faced lobster"). The humor lies in the child's innocent brutality: he's simply stating what adults have apparently told him, unaware he's insulting his own father to his mother's face. The title "A Natural Feeling" suggests this is a child's naturally unfiltered honesty, lacking social restraint. The second item mocks the Chicago World's Fair Art Committee's presumption in casually requesting famous European masterpieces (paintings from the Louvre, Raphael's Frescoes) as if acquiring world-class art were a simple administrative task.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A NATURAL FEELING. His Aunt: Wat A LOVELY BABY! LIKE HIM, TOO, THEY'S A BIG MISTAKE SOMEWHERE. AND THE LIVING IMAGE OF HIS FATHER, Little Elbridge: SA¥, MOTHER, EVERYBODY ALWAYS SAID THAT I TOOK AFTER POP. Now, tf THAT PUDGE-FACED LOBSTER LOOKS: unusual talents under a bushel so completely as in“ The Last Word " is much to be regretted. Finished actors are so rare in this country, that to practically shelve them, even tem- porarily, seems defrauding the public. The play itself is interesting, at least it is made so by Mr. Daly's company; but the effective and stirring climax, at the end of the first act, gives promises that are not fulfilled. It is, however, full of good situations, and its wit and pathos prevent the story dragging. A’ exceptionally attractive little volume is “In and Out of Book and Journal,” by A. Sydney Roberts. The book is a compilation of aphorisms, beautifully illustrated by Mr.9S. W. Van Schaick. There is a daintiness and charm to the pictures quite unusual. They possess more brilliancy, dash and richness of effect than one would think it possible to concentrate into so small a space. THE ART COMMITTEE BUCKLES DOWN TO WORK. HAIRMAN OF ART COMMITTEE, CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR: Have you heard from our ap- plication to the Louvre for those paintings we want at the Exposition ? PRIVATE SECRETARY: Not yet, CHAIRMAN OF ART COMMITTEE: Well, cable to Rome for the Frescoes of Raphael right away, will you ? comicbooks.com