Life — July 2, 1891 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page showcases **Life's satirical designs for decorative souvenir spoons**—ornate objects popular in the late 19th/early 20th century. The elaborate spoon handles feature whimsical characters and scenes, reflecting the era's taste for novelty collectibles. Below are two brief comedic dialogues: **"A Deplorable Fate"** jokes darkly about someone named Poplin being "buried alive" by moving to Philadelphia—a dated reference suggesting Philadelphia was considered provincial or tedious compared to New York or other urban centers. **"A Great Girl"** portrays Miss Wilkins as clever for inventing "a new kind of blinders...for chaperones." This satirizes the social convention requiring unmarried women to have chaperones during courtship. The joke: blinders would prevent chaperones from witnessing romantic indiscretions, implying the "clever" girl seeks to evade moral oversight. Both items mock social conventions of the period through exaggeration and wordplay typical of Life's humor.