Life, 1891-06-11 · page 13 of 18
Life — June 11, 1891 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **Top cartoon**: Mocks American tourists' cultural ignorance. Shades of Shakespeare and Molière observe an American girl at the Medici tomb finding Renaissance art "just too cute"—satirizing how wealthy Americans visited European cultural sites but lacked appreciation for their historical significance. **"Joy to the World"**: Ridicules Presbyterian Church leadership meeting in Detroit, sarcastically suggesting they've solved centuries of theological debate about salvation with absolute certainty and humorless self-importance. **Dialogue jokes**: Mock contemporary gender dynamics—men are criticized for both rudeness and courtesy; a man refuses to marry "literary women" because their intelligence ("blue stockings," slang for educated women) fades like fabric dye. This mocks both male arrogance and societal devaluation of female education. The **dental ad** at bottom is an unrelated period advertisement. Overall, the page satirizes American provincialism, religious pomposity, and sexism through witty exchanges typical of early 20th-century *Life* magazine humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Shade of Shakespeare; WHAT SORRY JEST HATH THAT GHOST DANTE UPON FOOT? Shade of Molitre: HE LEADS MICHAEL ANGELO TO ZE TOMB OF ZE MEDICI, VERE HE SHALL HEAR ONE AMERICAN GIRL SAY ZAT tt ts just too cute for any use! JOY TO THE WORLD! HE Presbyterians have struck it at last. For centuries the human race has groped about in the dark seeking how it shall be saved. For centuries we have fought and thought, discussed and tortured un- believers. But now all doubts are dead. The Presbyterians have recently decided at Detroit not only who shall be saved but just how it shall be done. The Creator can have no excuse for future errors. And there was no hilarity. As far as we can judge by the reports it was all done with sober faces. ENELOPE: Men are so rude. Jack: What's anybody been saying or doing to you now ? — {f a PENELOPE: A man gave me his seat on the car to-day and never 35 Ss aD thanked me for taking it. > HKrBennre— Se R. D.: Nothing in the world would ever induce me to marry a literary woman. Mlustrated Dental Advertisement: TEETH ise Miss C.: Why not, Mr. Denning-Macy ? SERTED WITHOUT PLATES, AT VERY LOWEST PRICES, Mr. D.: Well, blue stockings fade so soon, you know. comicbooks.com