Life, 1895-08-15 · page 14 of 14
Life — August 15, 1895 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical illustration, reprinted from the German publication *Ueber Land und Meer*, mocks the bicycle craze of the late 19th century. The eight panels show increasingly absurd applications of wheels to everyday life: women pushing prams, children in wheeled carriages, adults performing acrobatic tricks on bicycles, and someone attempting to ride a bicycle while sitting backwards. The joke targets the contemporary obsession with bicycles as a solution to modern transportation. By depicting ridiculous scenarios—including what appears to be someone launching themselves off a wheel—the cartoonist satirizes how enthusiastically people had embraced this new technology, treating it as a universal answer to mobility problems. The page is otherwise filled with period advertisements for bicycle manufacturers, rainproof skirt bindings, parquet floors, and Beeman's Pepsin Gum, typical of *Life* magazine's commercial content from this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
From Ueber Land und Meer, THE HALCYON “™! é (FORMERLY HALCYON HALL) py Millbrook, Dutchess Co., N, Y. ) Built, furnished, and conducted more ‘as a magnificent English Venice needs the E RE gE Nong, f Country howe than hotel Has equal naywhere In quleteiegance or ES Suara focation. Hlewation 1,000 Duxbak ain proof binding to wardn Special by’ the. seaso Apap persist Dore netme ie Cea Te edges dry. \ 3B C les fe Pridays and Saturdays. So do you. aol PRARTORD CSO . A brand of: 380160 450 - Beeman’s— THE ORIGINAL the famous Pepsin Gum “Ss, H. & M.”’ CAUTION. —See that the name Beeman 1s on each Bias Velveteen Skirt Bindings. je 2 ‘wrapper. A set ofthe "S. H. & M." miniature figures showing ‘ . The Perfection of thelatest Parisian costumes, matied for'10c. in sams Ri * . ; Chewing Gum And a Dalisees Bema tr 2% perfect pictures F Rie sead Se: for sample package. “W,.eY.vl) LL Jule i time exnosare, Gs Beeman Chemical Co. i gnleed. Sold by al font R83 Lake Gt., Clevelazd, 0. Ail Adon inators of Pepsin Chewing Gum. OF FINEST WOODS. ee ER TSH Leake PA 8, Qu Dining, Bod- N0R Eto. CAN BE LAID OVER OLD ABSOLUTELY HARMLESS. FLOORS OR NEW. Simply stopping the fat prod: Write for New Design Book. Sesto pesepely blag The Interior Hardwood Co. im coke ces weight at Indianspolis, Ind. Sold by all Dregatote