Life, 1891-09-17 · page 12 of 18
Life — September 17, 1891 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Not Synonymous" - Life Magazine Satire This page contains three unrelated satirical jokes typical of early 20th-century Life magazine humor: 1. **The streetcar joke** mocks the gap between manufacturing specifications and real-world use—a car designed to seat 30 is actually made to carry 50+, satirizing overcrowding on urban transit. 2. **The salesman dialogue** appears to be wordplay about a glove or similar item, where "Sue" jokes that if the item won't wash or scrub, at least it could "play the piano"—likely mocking both the product's poor quality and the absurdity of salesmen's exaggerations. 3. **The "Chinese are a queer race" exchange** uses a racist pun: someone suggests they're "queer" (odd), then another suggests calling them a "scrub race"—offensive period humor playing on stereotypes. 4. **The illustrations** reference Miss Mary Maguire's complexion, with a final note cautioning she shouldn't have kept her eyes open in the sun—likely referring to tanning or complexion issues contemporary to the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
152 NOT SYNONYMOUS. ENTLEMAN (en crowded street car) What is the differ e be- tween manufacture and SECOND GENTLEMAN Let me see,—it is— MAN (hanging on to rear platform, interrupting): It is this—this street car is manufactured to seat thirty people, but it is made to carry fifty or more. H* (salesman) Dear litle hand (adsent mindedly), \ wonder if it will wash. SUE (con spiritey: No, sir, it won't—nor it won't scrub, cither—but if you want it to play the piano, it’s yours, George. “THE Chinese are a queer race.” “Aren‘tthey. W might call a scrub race, too.” Miss MARY MAGUIRE HAS A FINE COLOR THIS AUTUMN, TEAS Rey sie sHOULUN TT HAVE KEPT HER FYPS OPEN ALL Sus we comicbooks.com