Life, 1892-06-02 · page 3 of 14
Life — June 2, 1892 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# LIFE Magazine Page Analysis This page from *Life* magazine (Volume XIX, Number 492) contains satirical cartoons about rejection in romance and social situations. The top illustration shows a figure chasing love while holding a banner reading "A FIN DE SIECLE LOVE CHASE," depicting romantic pursuit as a fin-de-siècle (end-of-century) social game. The main cartoon, titled "FIGHT DECLARED OFF, NO REASON GIVEN," depicts a street scene with working-class figures (appears to reference immigrant or tenement communities based on the dialect dialogue). The caption includes Irish-accented speech ("yez," "kin lick any boy"), suggesting ethnic stereotyping common to early 20th-century American humor. The poem "WHAT IT IS" by Tom Hall on the right philosophically muses on rejection in romance—"Just a tear or two, / Just a word that's naughty"—concluding that rejection itself defines romantic love. The bottom right cartoon, "A POWERFUL EXTRACT," shows physical comedy involving romantic rejection.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XIX. NUMBER 492. “FIGHT DECLARED OFF, NO REASON GIVEN.” Spokesman: SEE HERE, JIM BROGAN, YEZ HAS BEEN A-SAYIN’ YER KIN LICK ANY BOY IN DE WARD OF YER SIZE. I'VE GOT ME SISTER HERE WOT'LL KNOCK DER STUFFIN' OUT O' YER, AN’ SHE'S ON'Y A GAL, Jim Brogan: Wu's DEM FELLERS ? Spokesman; DEM'S HER BRUDDERS, DEM 18. DEY'RE ON'Y HERE TER SEE FAIR PLAY ! WHAT IT IS. J UST a little melancholy, Just a tear or two, Just a word that's naughty, Just a spiteful * Pooh!" Just an extra cocktail, Just a flower bill due, Just another ring to take Unto my friend, the Jew. That is what it is to be rejected, Miss, by you. Tom Hall. A POWERFUL EXTRACT. comicbooks.com