Life, 1894-06-14 · page 11 of 14
Life — June 14, 1894 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 389 This page contains three unrelated comedic sketches typical of Life's satirical humor: 1. **"Scientifically Explained"** (top): A visual joke about why people in poor health outlive the robust—"the others die first," spoken by a doctor to a well-dressed woman in an ornate interior. 2. **"The Wrong Husband"** (bottom left): Mrs. Almony seeks to introduce her last husband, but her ex-husband interrupts, claiming he was merely her "intermediate predecessor"—a joke about divorce and remarriage. 3. **"Why the Price Fell"** (bottom right): A businessman explains his horse's low sale price: it killed his wife in a railway accident. The dark humor contrasts his financial loss against the tragedy itself. Each sketch employs exaggeration and unexpected punchlines typical of early 20th-century American magazine humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
389 SCIENTIFICALLY EXPLAINED. “DOCTOR, WHY IS IT THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE PERFECT WRECKS LIVE LONGER THAN OTHERS WHO ARE STRONG AND WELL?" “ ER-WELL—YOU SEE, THE OTHERS DIE FIRST.” THE WRONG HUSBAND. RS, ALIMONY (¢0 companion in lobby of Divorce Court): There comes my last husband but three. I do so want to introduce you, but I can’t recall the dear fellow’s name. How annoying ! X-HUSBAND (advancing gallantly) : Madame, you look even more charming than when you were Mrs. Jolliboy. Mrs. ALIMONY: Thank you. (7o companion.) Let me introduce you to a former spouse of mine, Mr, Jolliboy. EX-HUSBAND (Aaughtily): Madame, Lam not Jolliboy. Jolliboy was my im- mediate predecessor. HER VIEW OF IT. HE: I don’t see how anybody can like caviare. It’s a depraved taste. HE: No, it’s a cultivated taste : Well, that’s the same thing, A CHRISTIAN HEELER, WHY THE PRICE FELL. OMPANO: Two hundred dollars, sir, for that horse, and it cost me a thousand. BLOTTERWICK : (suspicfously): Isn't that an unusual reduction ? PoMPANO (frankly): Yes, itis. But he ran away and killed my wife, and 1 have no further use for him, H JSBAND: I witnessed a most distressing accident at the railway station, a little while ago. A handsomely dressed lady was descending from the Pullman when she missed her footing in some manner and fell partially under the car. The train started at that moment, and before any one could spring to her stance the wheels passed over her decapitating her before our very eyes. Wire: Horrors! What did she have on?