Life, 1895-02-21 · page 1 of 18
Life — February 21, 1895 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "An Effect Missed" — Life Magazine, February 21, 1895 This cartoon depicts a social embarrassment scenario. A woman confronts a man about shooting him "in the Rockies," expecting him to have fierce, frightened eyes. However, he replies his eyes are "only glass"—meaning he's wearing a glass eye or prosthetic. The woman's intended insult (that she'd wounded him emotionally or physically) falls flat because the man is revealing a physical disability or injury. The joke satirizes Victorian-era social posturing and the gap between intended insults and reality. The "advantage" she thought she had—wounding his pride or person—becomes meaningless when confronted with actual physical difference. It's a satirical commentary on both performative masculinity and how disability unexpectedly undercuts social hierarchies.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXvV. NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 21, 1895. NUMBER 634. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1895, by Miroweut & Miture, prsRicanys gd Sym. Oa AN EFFECT MISSED. He; U shor Him IN THE Rockies, She; WaT FIERCE EVES HE H. He: OW, THEY ARE ONLY GLass. She; 1 see, YOU HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF HIM.