Life, 1891-10-29 · page 6 of 16
Life — October 29, 1891 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 242 **Main Comic Strip (right side):** "The Powder Mill Victim, and How He Escaped the Kettle of the Cannibals" depicts a white man's rescue from indigenous people. This reflects early 20th-century adventure fiction tropes, using racist caricature to portray non-Europeans as savage "cannibals." **"A Clear Case" (left side):** A police conversation joke where officers debate arrest procedures. The punchline—"Right about face.—The girl who won't paint"—appears to reference a woman resisting cosmetics, though the satirical point is unclear without fuller context. **Bottom dialogue:** Exchanges between "Scribbler," "Bunsby," and "She"/"He" mock literary pretension and social conventions around marriage and class. The page exemplifies early Life magazine's blend of satirical commentary on contemporary manners with period-typical racist imagery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: THE POWDER MILL VICTIM, AND HOW HE ESCAPED THE KETTLE OF THE CANNIBALS. A CLEAR CASE. Ft POLICEMAN: There’s a man that’s always flirtin’ with the servant girls on my beat. I'd like ter run him in, but I don’t see how I can. Why not arrest him on the charge SECOND POLICEMAN : of personating an officer ? RIGHT ABOUT FACE.—The girl who won't paint. Jack (who has just received a remittance): TWES, AFTER THAT, T SAY WE HAVE SOME TAME DUCK AND— Dick (whose remittance has not arrived): WOLw ON! WHAT vo THEY STICK YOU FOR THAT? Jack: TWO DOLLARS AND A HALE Dick: Wwew! Dox't YOU THINK WE'D RETTER GET A rerdd HUCK, AND TAME UP OURSELVES? KRIBBLER: If there's a saint on earth, it is our re- 7 ligious editor. Bunspy: What makes you think so? SKRIBBLER: He dipped his paste brush in the ink, yester- day, and all he said was, “Oh, pshaw!" HE: What do you mean, after all, when you say, “Blood is thicker than water?” He: Well, for instance, | mean that it is better to marry the daughter of a Kentucky colonel than to marry a Prohibi- tionist belle. comicbooks.com