Life — August 29, 1895 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical illustration depicting Coney Island, the famous Brooklyn amusement park, reimagined as an Egyptian scene. The image is rotated 90 degrees and shows crowds of beachgoers and tourists engaged in typical Coney Island activities—swimming, riding attractions, eating, and socializing. The satire appears to mock the exotic, orientalist fantasies popular in early 20th-century American entertainment. By labeling this mundane, crowded American beach resort as "Egypt's Coney Island," the cartoonist satirizes both the gaudy exoticism of Coney Island's attractions and Americans' fascination with Egyptian imagery—a trend that intensified following archaeological discoveries and the opening of Suez Canal tourism around this era.