Life, 1893-05-11 · page 5 of 14
Life — May 11, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page contains two separate humorous pieces from *Life* magazine: **Top cartoon:** A domestic scene where a man in formal dress confronts a sleepy boy at a desk. The caption reveals the joke: the father accuses the boy of being out "with the boys last night," but the boy claims he was studying. The father then reveals he has "twins at our house"—suggesting the boy has been neglectful or irresponsible, leaving the father to deal with domestic chaos. **Bottom section ("An Accident"):** A brief comedic dialogue between a druggist and friend about a careless clerk. The clerk sold poison to "a wild eyed woman" and trusted her for payment—a darkly humorous commentary on negligent pharmacy practices of the era. The small illustration labeled "Fair and Above Board" likely provides visual commentary on proper (versus improper) conduct. Both pieces satirize carelessness and irresponsibility in everyday life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“YOU LOOK SLEEPY, YOU MUST HAVE “Twas, WE HAVE TWINS AT OUR HOUSE.” AN ACCIDENT. HE newsboys were shouting an extra for an ‘ Accident on the levated,’ and I bought one.” was it?” “A man who got on at Park Place found a vacant seat.” RUGGIST: I'm going to discharge that new clerk. He's too What has he done ? This morning he sold a wild eyed woman a dose of poison and trusted her for the money. FAIR AND ABOVE BOARD, comicbooks.com