Life, 1894-04-19 · page 3 of 14
Life — April 19, 1894 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XXIII, Number 590) **Main Cartoon - "Our Boys and Our Girls":** This satirizes wealth disparity and social climbing. The caption quotes someone explaining they left their nephew fifty thousand dollars while giving two girls only five thousand each, claiming the nephew could make his own way in the world. The illustration depicts what appears to be a formal social gathering, likely critiquing the arbitrary and gendered nature of inheritance decisions among the wealthy. **Secondary Pieces:** "Bagged the Wrong Bird" humorously depicts a suitor unsuccessfully courting a wealthy woman through persistent effort. The brief jokes below include a City Missionary and Prisoner exchange—likely social commentary on urban poverty and incarceration. Overall, the page satirizes wealth, class distinctions, and social pretensions of early 20th-century American society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XxXIll. OUR BOYS AND OUR GIRLS. “Tom's UNCLE WAS VERY UNJUST WHEN HE LEFT HIM FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THE TWO GIRLS ONLY FIVE THOUSAND APIECE.” “ BUT HE EXPLAINED IN THE WILL THAT HE CONSIDERED THEM CAPABLE OF MAKING THEIR OWN WAY IN THE WORLD.” BAGGED THE WRONG BIRD. OUNG Hardupp vowed a mighty vow : “TM wed a girl with cash,” said he ; - “Tl bag a millionaires, though I sue a year on bended knee. He sued a year on bended knee With constancy that never Ragged ; But, oh, no maiden rich bagged he— "Twas but his trousers that he bagged. John P. Lyons. S! 2: Oh, Henry, I had such a dreadful dream last night. I dreamed I saw your first wife sit- ting in your lap and you smz/éng upon ber. HE: That's the oddest dream I ever heard of. SHE: How, dear ? He: Why, she weighed two hundred and fifty pounds! ITY MISSIONARY: My friend, aren’t you sorry you are in here? PRISONER: No, sir; I'm in here for having five wives.