Life, 1892-02-18 · page 12 of 18
Life — February 18, 1892 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Explanation This page from Life contains historical "Anniversaries of the Week" commemorating significant events from past Februaries: the 1838 Bowery Theatre fire, Jumbo the elephant (famously exhibited by P.T. Barnum) refusing to leave in 1882, and two maritime/Irish incidents from 1841 and 1864. The main feature is a sentimental poem "My Old Dress-Suit" by J. Harry Stedman, nostalgically personifying a worn formal jacket as a repository of youthful memories—romantic encounters, fine dinners, and social events. The humor section "Explained at Last" contains brief satirical jokes about streetcar economics and a servant's confusion about an unexpected visitor with "no bill"—implying visitors typically come as creditors. The wood-engraved illustrations depict the historical events in period style. Overall, the page mixes nostalgia, gentle humor, and historical documentation typical of Life's late-nineteenth-century satirical approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: «6 HEY say love is blind.” “That's the reason it goes begging so much, I ANNIVERSARIES OF THE WEEK. FeeRUARY 18, 1838, Bowery THEATRE BURNED THE THIRD TIME, FepRuary 18, 1882, Jumso Reruses TO LEAVE Recor: Tt. BARNUM HAD BOUGHT HIM, MY OLD DRESS-SUIT. Y dress-suit is threadbare and shiny and spotted, But how can I part with this friend of my youth, To hang in some second-hand shop, or be trotted About on some restaurant waiter, forsooth ! That dress-suit has sported with wealth and with station, Has heard the best music and seen the best plays, Has rested in royal content in flirtation, And consorted with beauty in various ways. When I think of the waists that right sleeve has surrounded— In waltzing, of course—and what tresses have pressed The lapel of that coat, yum-yum! I'm confounded With * joys that we've tasted,” no longer possessed— And I fondly remember the scores of good dinners, With menus delicious, that vest has embraced, And the heart-throbs it’s heard ; they come to beginners, They are evening emotions, by morning effaced. And there are the trousers : for years they've been flitting About at swell parties and dancing affairs Check by jowl with the silks and the satins, or sitting Sequestcred in alcoves, in nooks, on the stairs. Every thread is a chord of some sweet recollection, Every spot tells a tale of delights now no more ; Dear worn-out dress suit, you inspire retrospection, Because you've been worn out so often before. J. Harry Stedman. EXPLAINED AT LAST. IGGS: Statistics show that it costs three cents and a half to carry a passenger on a street car. DicGs: Perhaps that’s the reason the Broadway cars never stop for one. SERVANT (answering bell): My master isn’t in, sir; you may leave the bill if you wish. CALLER (é” surprise) : Bill! I have no bill. 1 wish to— SERVANT (¢2 surprise also): No bill! Then you must have called at the wrong house. FeMRUARY 19, 1841. THE sip * GOVERNOR FENNER" RUN DOWN BY THE STEAMER “ NoTTincuam” ouT oF Dustin, FEBRUARY 22, 1864. RIOT BETWEEN THE FENIANS AND THEIR OPPONENT AT DUBLIN. comichooks.gom