Life, 1893-12-07 · page 3 of 16
Life — December 7, 1893 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XXII, Number 571) This page contains two satirical pieces: **"The Floral Cipher"** (top): A woman sends her male companion flowers with a coded message. The joke plays on the Victorian-era language of flowers—different blooms supposedly conveyed hidden meanings. The humor lies in the woman's frustration that the florist cannot translate the romantic or meaningful message embedded in her floral arrangement, so her suitor remains confused about her intent. **"Questionable Kindness"** (bottom): Features dialogue between characters named Stirup, The Major, and others discussing a man's social standing. The cartoon satirizes how exclusionary clubs operate—that blackballing someone from membership is actually doing them a favor by sparing them association with the club's undesirable members. Both pieces mock social pretension and miscommunication in upper-class society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NUMBER 571. She: 1 AM NOT UP IN THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. He: 1 DON'T GET THE TRANSLATION FROM THE FLORIST UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH. THE FLORAL CIPHER. QUESTIONABLE KIND- NESS. TIRUP (at the Man- hatumet); They tell me Booby can’t get a sec- ond at the Uniboc THE MajJAH: ‘d let non-members second, I'd be glad to help him, STIR But you had him blackballed here. HE MAJAIL: Yes, but b's the kind of man you'd be glad to see elected to some other club, WHat DID THAT BUNCH OF JACQUEMINOTS MEAN THAT YOU SENT ME? “TIED IN THE LAST HEAT.” OOL: I suppose it’s not a com- mendable thing to con- fess, but I must say I hate children, VAN PELT: Why don't you join Mr. Gerry's society ? T is very hard on a young man to spend two months deciding which of two girls he will choose for his wife, and then to find out when he proposes that neither of them will have him, J comicbooks:com