Life, 1895-07-11 · page 10 of 16
Life — July 11, 1895 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 26 This page contains two distinct sections: **Upper Section:** A biographical article about Jim Blue-Jeans (Whitcomb Riley), describing how the poet rose from humble origins in the American West to become a celebrated figure in literature. The text emphasizes his authenticity and influence on other writers and performers. **Lower Section:** A three-panel comic titled "A Mortifying Mishap" depicting a slapstick sequence involving a woman at what appears to be a clothesline or rope. The humor relies on physical comedy—the woman's comic distress as she interacts with hanging laundry or garments, with each panel escalating the mishap. The page exemplifies Life magazine's mix of literary commentary and humorous illustration typical of early American satirical publishing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: UNKNOWN DOMESTICS OF WELL-KNOWN MEN. No. IV. THE HIRED MAN OF JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY. IM BLUE-JEANS was born far out somewhere in the Wild and Woolly West, where Prohibition furnishes man with an obstacle to overcome, and a con- stant desire for the alleged unattainable. His native town is remarkable from the fact that, although it boasts of a population of two hun- dred inhabitants, it runs but one daily paper with a circulation as feeble as that of an old man’s blood. Jim's present master began the first step in the road to fame by contributing to “ The Poet's Cor- ner” of this newspaper, and on being requested by the editor—a Colonel in the grocery business— to take his remuneration in sweet potatoes and kerosene, got Jim's assistance to carry the fruits of his genius hom Jim, at that time, was twenty-five, and a loafer by profession. Although not in himself a poetical personage, Jim became at once a source of inspiration to the Poet of the Homely Pathetic. Riley hired him at once on conditions that he held himself invulnerable against the growth of education and civilization, and began by paying him a dollar a month and his keep. All books of table manners and deportment have been carefully kept from him, and his Western dialect . is so unspoilt, that in a recent book of poems in which Riley attempted to reproduce it faithfully, The Century Company returned it to the poet saying that they had no use yet for Volapuk. Many other three-named minor poets have found inspira- tion in Jim. He is, in fact, the original of all the various Jim-poems of parlor recitations. Actors in the good old impossible style of drama of the Old Homestead school used to go miles to obtain local color from him, His man- ner of wiping his nose on his sleeve, scratching the back of his head, and squirting tobacco juice across a ten-acre lot have all been faithfully copied and utilized as stage business, and a few years ago were all popular mannerisms with noted comedians. Since, however, the Miller and Faversham tricks of hand-flapping, hair-clutching, and nursing Alpine hats have come into vogue, and the no-better-than-she- ought-to-be style of play has become prominent, the homely pathetic stage business inspired by Jim Blue-Jeans has fallen into disuse. However, now that that all clever plays written by bad men are to be suppressed, and there is to bea distinct reaction in the drama, I hear that Jim is to have a good offer from Dan Frohman. It is thought though, that James Whitcomb Riley will outbid Frohman rather than lose his inspiration. Jessie M. Wood. A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. RS. NORRIS: Don’t complain of the dinner all the time. Just suppose you had lost the use of your palate like poor Cousin Henry and could'nt taste a single thing you ate. Mr. Norris: home. I should'nt mind that if I always dined at A MORTIFYING MISHAP. comicbooks.com