Life, 1892-03-31 · page 13 of 18
Life — March 31, 1892 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page (page 203) combines several satirical elements: **Main Editorial Piece ("When Patience, ETC")**: Criticizes women's large hats worn in theaters, which obstruct other patrons' views. The writer argues that while theater managers would stop men from holding up signs blocking the stage, they tolerate women blocking sightlines with constantly-moving elaborate hats. The satire targets both the inconsistent enforcement of theater etiquette and American tolerance for this "nuisance" compared to other "civilized countries." **"Anniversaries of the Week"**: Historical illustrations marking events on March 27 and 31, appearing to be a regular feature. **Comic Vignettes**: Short humorous dialogues—one about plumbing problems, another about a man relieved to have avoided marrying an extravagant woman, and a final exchange about a landlady's steam heat complaints—all standard light humor for the era. The page reflects early-20th-century social anxieties about women's fashion and public behavior in mixed spaces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-~LIFE-: 203 ANNIVERSARIES OF THE WEEK. WHEN PATIENCE, ETC. OU pay your money and you don’t see the play. Far be it from LiFe to cast any reflections upon lovely woman, but when human beings are so organ- ized that the consciousness of being a public nuisance has no weight it is almost time for somebody else to do something. As a matter of business it is the duty of a theatrical manager to give you a seat from which you can see the performance. If the occupant of the seat in front should hold up a large transparency telling you where to go for umbrellas, the officials of the establishment might possibly interfere. But when self-sacrificing woman accom- plishes the same result by a large hat on a constantly moving head these same officials feel no responsibility. America is the only civilized country where this nuisance is tolerated, and it will continue to flourish as long as people are willing to pay their money for performances they have have little chance of enjoying. AT ANY THEATRE. ASHAWAY: The plumbing in my house broke down the other day and we didn’t get any water for twenty-four hours. CLEVERTON: How did you manage ? DASHAWAY: I got along all right until the next morn- ing and then I needed it badly. yjjjifuii Oxy JUST THINK WHAT AN EXCaPE I HAD, WHAT D'VER MEAN? TMAT WUZ MY HEST GAL ONCE’T. IF 1 HADN'T BROKIN AGERMENT HER EXTRAVIGANCE WOULD HA’ ROt WHY, HER CANDY BILL ALONE IS THREE CENTS A WEEK ! DME, MARCH 27, 1834. DISCOVERY OF THE LARGEST AFRICAN DIAMOND EVER FOUND. MaRch 27, 1614. ADRIAN BLOCK, THE FIRST EUROPEAN SAILOR TO PASS THROUGH HELL GATE, Marcu THE PRINCE OF WA‘ RIGGS: What did the landlady say this morning about the steam heat in our room ? GricGs: She said it was a cold day when she didn’t have any steam turned on. comicbooks.com