Life, 1891-04-02 · page 1 of 14
Life — April 2, 1891 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Reverses of Time" This satirical cartoon illustrates a social observation about aging and perception. Three fashionably dressed figures encounter each other on a city street. The dialogue explains the joke: the speaker remarks how strange it is that time reverses things—specifically, that Miss Kidling, who was three or four years *older* than the speaker in school, now appears three or four years *younger*. The humor targets vanity and the visible effects of aging. The implication is that Miss Kidling has likely used cosmetics, fashion, or other means to artificially reduce her apparent age, creating an ironic "reversal" where she now looks younger than her former schoolmate despite being chronologically older. It's a commentary on women's efforts to maintain youthful appearance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XVII. NEW YORK, APRIL 2, 1891. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1891, Mircnect. & Miter. THE REVERSES OF TIME. “IT's STRANGE HOW TIME REVERSES THINGS, ISN'T 17 ?” “Yes, I SUPPOSE 0.” “Miss KIDDLING, WHOM WE JUST PASSED, WAS THREE OR FOUR YEARS OLDER THAN ME WHEN WE WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER. Now, I FIND I AM THREE OR FOUR YEARS OLDER THAN SHE 18." NUMBER 431. comicbooks.com