Life, 1895-06-20 · page 1 of 16
Life — June 20, 1895 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine, June 20, 1895 This page features a satirical cartoon about a phrenologist's examination. The caption reads: "The first thing that phrenologist exclaimed when he saw me was: 'What a head!' 'Where were you the night before?'" The joke mocks both phrenology—the pseudoscience claiming skull shape revealed character—and suggests the subject's disheveled appearance (implied "the night before") made their head look unusually misshapen, possibly from drinking or debauchery. The elaborate decorative borders contain small vignettes typical of Life's design style. The cartoon satirizes the pretensions of phrenology while making a bawdy implication about the subject's nocturnal activities and resulting physical condition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
0 Ve LUME XXVv. NEW YORK, JUNE 20, 1895. NUMBER 6sr. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter, Copyright, 189s, by Mrrcwete & Miter. prriCanys Svm. ious as alubful gists. vest St. FOR SIZE AND SHAPE. “THE FIRST THING THAT PHRENOLOGIST EXCLAIMED WHEN HE SAW ME was: ‘WHAT A HEAD!'" “WHERE WERE YOU THE NIGHT BEFOKE ?” 1 | ARE, | comicbooks.com