Life, 1893-12-07 · page 13 of 16
Life — December 7, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoons/Content:** This page contains two distinct items: 1. **"Orthographical" joke** (top): A brief comic dialogue where a man asks a woman to assess his character based on his handwriting. She responds that he "makes big mistakes," revealing the joke relies on handwriting analysis (graphology) being unreliable—his poor penmanship doesn't actually indicate character flaws. 2. **"Life's Future Home"** (main article): An announcement about Life magazine's new building on 31st Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue in New York City. The accompanying photograph shows the steel-frame construction. The text humorously celebrates the building's grandeur while mock-modestly claiming Life has been too dignified to brag about it (unlike competitor magazines). The small cartoon labeled "A Face That Grows On One" depicts a thin man, likely satirizing the magazine's editorial staff or approach. **Context:** This appears to be early 20th-century institutional self-promotion disguised as satirical commentary on New York's legal and architectural developments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
369 ORTHOGRAPHICAL. As you're a student of character, what can you say of mine? SHE: You're one who makes big mistakes, HE: How can you tell? SHE: By your handwriting. SN'T it about time the great State of New York purged it- self of that vile fiction known as the “common law marriage?” It sat- urates our courts and newspapers with filth and protects the rights of noone. To the lay mind it seems as though a very little simple legis- lation could declare what is a legal marriage under the laws of the State of New York, and save the public at large from much disgust. Inasmuch as the common law mar- riage is a source of considerable in- come to our friends of the legal profession, it would be too much to expect them to take the initiative. Perhaps some sensible legislator will undertake the task. How about that, Mr. Sheffield? You have your spurs to win, and LIFE is sure every decent journal and individual in the State would support you. LIFE’S FUTURE HOME. L" ©, with his usual modesty and desire to shrink from public gaze, has, up to this date, refrained from any comment on the glories of his future abode. Other periodicals have so deafened a nauseated public with the trumpetings of their archi- tectural efforts, that LiFe, in disgust, has chosen the other extreme. But now concealment is no longer possible. Eight stories of stone and steel have climbed high into the air on Thirty-first Street, between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, and proclaim far louder than printers’ ink the story of L1 enterprise and glory. The banging of hammers and the clinking of many chisels announce, with joyous din, that this shall be the home of cheerfulness and wit, of art, and fun, and satire. And the building itself! For the passer-by there will be a quickening of his artistic pulse when this radiant facade smiles down upon him. Its graceful proportions and exquisite carving will be a revelation to him, It will be absolutely fire-proof, and equipped with every modern appliance that conduces to the comfort of man. In the stories above will be apartments for selected bachelors, of undoubted personal beauty, and studios for a very limited number of exceptionally gifted artists. “A FACE THAT GROWS ON ONE.” comicbooks.com