Life, 1893-11-30 · page 18 of 18
Life — November 30, 1893 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertising page** rather than political satire. The dominant content consists of product advertisements typical of the 1890s. The one cartoon present depicts a **business conversation between an adult and child**. A young girl reports to her father that her mother sent her to assess how business is faring. The father responds that business is "bad, very bad," listing failed attempts with various groups (the lame, the blind, the deaf), before joking about economizing by eating cold asparagus and leftover salmon. **The satire**: This reflects late-19th-century economic anxiety—likely referencing the economic depression of the 1890s. The joke's dark humor comes from the father's resigned acceptance of hardship and his absurd "solutions" (targeting vulnerable populations, then resorting to humble leftovers). It captures how economic downturns affected ordinary households. The surrounding ads (Beecham's Pills, Pears' Soap, Scott's Emulsion) reveal period consumer culture and health anxieties. These advertisements are notably unregulated by modern standards—making extraordinary medical claims without evidence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pimples, blotches and eruptions com- WORLD'S FAIR pletely vanish before MEDALS a steady use of SURBRUG'S Wore ewarded to the maken ot Beecham ”s ae : For various points of excellence, the Worth a Guinea) Pi Ils y i ‘ 7 4 GOLDEN S| EP E SARS HIGHEST AWARD on BICYCLES. Sic MBLERS tn oar fine C : HSE RY. ° aa es aT eat car fine Catalogue. | (Tasteless) er, Aewocie. Or and health again Gonamoiay ia sesveaY taba. Gos glows in the pure skin inc ape iebecee crea and clear complexion. WE WANT YOU TO TRY 25 cents a box, GOLDEN SCEPTRE. All the talk in the world will not convince you so quickly as a trial that it is almost PERFECT ION, We will send on receipt of Oc, a saniple ‘to any address. Prices of Gotien Seepteey ibe SSO 441b., 40 cents, postage paid. (Catalogue Free.) SURBRUG, 159 Fulton 8t,, N. ¥. City. tH = ii A BETTER COCKTAIL AT HOME THAN IS SERVED OVER ANY BAR IN THE WORLD, The Club i lI |, Hi _ \ Lowell Carpets have been famous for ear oe ‘al 8 Hai iy k ! ‘ than half a century. The best quality, desiga, } and coloring, To protect buyers from dee ill {i i tion, the word Lowell is woven in capital lene’ MANHATTAN, Wi Re TAY AEN Ny at each repeat of the pattern in the hack of MARTINI, Say {| Masao aM i LOWELL WHISKY, mh i BRUSSELS AND WILTONS. HOLLAND GIN, wate u i iH H | hy i TOM QIN and 3 VERMOUTH. We guarantee these Cocktails to be made of abso- lutely pureand well matured I{quors, Little Girl: Dao, MOTHER SENT ME ROUND TO SEE MOW BUSINESS IS AFORE and the mixing |, se equal to the best 7 . . SS IS BAD, VERY BAD, I'VE TRIED THE LAME, 5 cothlills wotved 1 . D D TH ME, THE BLIND, AND ben World® belin’ Corns, “TELL YOUR MOTHER WE'LL HAVE TO EAT OUR SPARRERGRASS COLD AND TO poundedin accurate | MAKE A SALAD OF THE SALMON THAT WAS LEFT FROM YESTERDAY ! Oil is the kind used mroporttons, Beg SS} in the production ! a found of uniform of Scott's Emul- toiycttt| wage TITRE BINDER, |S=typten ing thoroughly, are * . F superior to. tho: phitesof Lime and mized as wanted. 3 Cheap, Strong and Durable. Soda are added ° Wo prefer you should buy of yourdealer. If are © does not keep them we will send a selection i ——— for their vital ef- t four bottles, prepald, for $6.00. L WILL HOLD 26 NUMBERS. fect upon nerve i. F. HEUBLEIN & BRO., propretors, —_____ and brain. No - 39 Broadway, N. Y., Hartford, Conn., and | © Mailed to any part of the U. S. for $1.00, postage free. mystery surrounds this formu! 20 Piccadilly, W. London, Eng. nae ” the only mystery is how quid] va os Address Office of © LIF 28 WEST 23d STREET, N. Y. y mystery: 97" For sale by all Druggists and Dealers ’ it builds up flesh and brings be strength to the weak of all agé FOR STEADY NERVES AND GOOD SLEEP USE H Scott's Emulsial Bromo=Seltzer. wil check Consumption a eases, CONTAINS NO ANTI-PYRINE, TRIAL BOTTLE, 10 CTS. Prepared by Seotsia Bowes, 3. Ss Paras oF Wu, M. HacsTeD, 33-43 Goro Sr., Ne Ys comicbooks.com