Life, 1892-05-12 · page 7 of 18
Life — May 12, 1892 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains two separate satirical pieces from Life magazine: **Top cartoon ("Experientia Docet"):** Shows a shopkeeper's interaction with a customer buying a hairbrush. The humor hinges on the phrase "soft back"—the customer wants a brush with soft bristles for gentle grooming, but the shopkeeper (standing above the counter) appears to misunderstand or interpret the request differently, likely with sexual innuendo. It's mild Victorian-era wordplay satire. **Bottom section ("The Sad Truth"):** Uncle Jack drives his niece through Chicago suburbs, mentioning a wealthy widow (Mrs. Bornstein) who just married her sixth husband. Margaret's response—that many girls at home are "pining for their first"—satirizes women's desperation for marriage. The joke criticizes both female marriage-obsession and wealthy women's serial marriages as social problems worthy of mockery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
EXPERIENTIA DOCET. “MAMMA SENT ME TO GET A HAIR BRUS! “ WHAT SORT OF A HAIR BRUSH DO YOU WANT?" “1 WANT ONE WITH A SOFT BACK.” NEW BOOKS. THe MAN WHO VANISHED. By Fergus Hume. New York: The Waverly Company. ‘tine Vere. By Louis Couperus. Translation by J. T. Grein. New York: D. Appleton and Company. The Blue Scarab, By David Graham Adee. Chicago: Laird and Lee. Wotton Reinfred. By Thomas Carlyle, New York: The Waverly Com- pany. The Song of the Sword and Other Verses. By W. E. Henley. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. “he Dead Nymph and Other Poems, By.Charles Henry Liders, New York ; Charles Scribner's Sons. Old Dacre’s Darling. By Annie Thomas, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippin- cott Company. The Goddets of Atvatabar, By William R. Bradshaw. New York: J. F. Douthitt. London of Today, By Charles Eyre Pascoe. Boston: Roberts Brothers. “On the Plantation.” By Joel Chandler Harris. New York: D. Apple- ton and Company. THE SAD TRUTH. NCLE JACK (driving with his Boston niece through the suburbs of Chicago): There, Margaret! There's a fine place—Mrs. Bornstein lives thete—just married to her sixth husband—— MARGARET: Sz#xth husband, Uncle Jack! Oh, I know so many girls at home that are pining for their first. comicbooks.com