Life, 1893-04-06 · page 13 of 16
Life — April 6, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 227 Analysis This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical humor typical of early 20th-century American magazines: **Main cartoon (top left):** depicts women sewing for a bazaar while discussing "the Woman question"—contemporary debates about women's rights and roles. Mrs. Nofit ironically claims no perfect woman exists, prompting a meek woman to reveal she's heard of one: her husband's *first* wife (now deceased). The satire mocks both the pretentious discussion and the joke's implication that wives become difficult through marriage. **Street humor (middle):** A brief joke about Boston's confusing street layout, playing on the city's famously irregular, non-grid streets. **Bottom cartoon:** Shows a woman selecting an oversized, poorly-fitted garment as a "surprise" for her husband John, satirizing either women's sewing incompetence or deliberate mischief—the caption "John's Surprise" suggests he won't be pleased. The page also includes "The Lost Thought," a sentimental poem unrelated to the satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: SHE HAD BEEN TOLD OF ONE. HILE they sewed for the bazaar the conversation had turned to the subject of Woman, her rights and wrongs ; what she should do and be, and what she should not; the merits and shortcomings of a good many absent friends not being neglected. “Oh, well,” remarked Mrs. Nofit, as she finished stitching a fourteen inch collar on to a night shirt that would other- wise have fitted John L, Sullivan ; and began basting a sleeve in the wrong armhole of a child's dress, which from its un- natural proportions was evidently intended for a new variety of humanity —“ Oh, well! no doubt there never was an alto- gether perfect woman. Did you ever hear of one Mrs. Meek ?” “ Yes,” quietly replied a patient-looking little woman who had not been taking much part in the discussion, “ there was one—I've often heard of her—but she’s dead now. She was my husband's first wife.” OBBLE: How on earth did those trousers get twisted around your legs so ? STONE: I have been in Boston and tried to find my way around the streets. Mfrs. F.: 1 THINK I'LL SELECT THIS ONE, IT WILL HE A GREAT SURPRISE TO JOHN. THE LOST THOUGHT. NTO a rapture of sunshine Just at the noon of the day, From the cage of my weary mind A little thought flew away, I traced it into the ether, Far into the blue of naught, o— Since that hour, bewildered, That little lost thought I've sought. Evasive, mockingly airy, It flutters elusive wing. O—hé! That I cannot coax it Again in its cage to sing. Johanna Staats. . 2A. M.—JOHN'S SURPRISE. comicbooks.com