Life, 1894-10-25 · page 1 of 14
Life — October 25, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine, October 25, 1894 The cartoon titled "In Boston" depicts a librarian conversing with a woman patron. The joke plays on a telegram the woman received from her husband in New York stating he was in Heaven, while she had simultaneously received a telegram saying he was in Heaven. The humor derives from the implication that the husband's claim to be in Heaven while actually being in New York (a place associated with sin and worldliness in Victorian moral discourse) is absurd or ironic. This reflects late 19th-century American attitudes about urban vice—New York representing temptation and moral danger, contrasted with claims of virtue. The satire mocks both the husband's obvious dishonesty and perhaps the wife's naive acceptance of the telegram's claim.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXIV. NEW YORK, OCTOBER 25, 1894. NUMBER 617. Entered at the New Yorx Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1894, by Mircwert & Mitter. IN BOSTON. The Librarian: HAVE vou READ “ Lerrers From Heti?” She: No. BUTI MAD A TELEGRAM FROM MY HUSRAND IN New YORK, THE OTHER DAY, SAYING THAT HE WAS IN HEAVEN.