Life, 1892-10-06 · page 11 of 14
Life — October 6, 1892 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 193 Analysis This page contains three distinct satirical items: **Top cartoon ("The Point of View"):** A man on a hobby horse frightens a real horse, which bucks and throws its rider. Wise men observe the chaos, noting the hobbyist has turned everyone "upside down." The satire critiques how hobby-riders (obsessive amateurs) cause disproportionate disruption. **"A Fatal Case":** A doctor-patient dialogue where a patient died from "absent-mindedness"—falling asleep and forgetting to wake up. This dark humor satirizes absent-mindedness as literally fatal. **Bottom illustration with caption:** A girl tells Tom she needs a tooth pulled and her neck won't come back. This appears to be a children's joke about dental work, playing on literal language misunderstanding. The page showcases Life's mix of adult satire and mild humor typical of late 19th-century American comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*- LIFE: ANNIVERSARIES OF THE WEEK. Ocroser 8, 1871. THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE STARTED. that this picture is entirely a creation of the artist's fancy. The facts in the case are quite different. When Columbus and his men sighted land they were so overjoyed that they spliced the main brace eighteen times in quick succession and then went ashore filled with anxiety about the re- sult of the Sullivan-Corbett fight. The portrait from Amon- tillado, is of a sketch of Columbus made at the moment he re- ceived the news. The last portrait of the series is preserved in the Royal Museum at Granada. It was taken just after his election as President of the First National Bank of Madrid. It was a wedding gift to his third wife, and remained in the family until it was purchased by the Spanish Government. LiFe is prepared to prove that these portraits are all that they claim to be, and that they are the only authentic ones in existence. Those heretofore printed are likenesses of his various cousins and of members of his crew. LIFE regrets that its contemporaries have been so grossly imposed upon, and stands ready to codperate in any proper movement to bring the imposers to justice. Girt: Wuy, Tom, WHat oN EARTH — Tom: 1 KNow, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GotNG TO say, You See I WENT TO HAVE A BACK TOOTH PULLED YESTERDAY, AND MY NECK HASN'T COME BACK YET. THE POINT OF VIEW. MAN who oft a hobby rode, Once at a group of -men sped ;— The beast was frightened, kicked and plunged, And stood him on his head. The wise-men ran to set him straight,— He stopped them with a frown :— ‘*See what my hobby’s done,” cried he, “You all are upside down.” A FATAL CASE. HE PATIENT: Of what did Paston die ? THE Doctor: Absent-mindedness, “ What?" “ Absent-mindedness. up.” Went to sleep and forgot to wake He: THAT'S A MOST EXTRAORDINARY REASON, DON'T YOU KNOW; I DON'T SEE WHY YOU SHOULD REFUSE ME BECAUSE MY FAMILY ARE RICH. She: THEY MIGHT DISAGREE WITH ME, comicbooks.com