Life, 1895-12-12 · page 1 of 18
Life — December 12, 1895 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Prudent Maid" - Life Magazine, December 12, 1905 This cartoon satirizes financial dependence in marriage. Two women in Edwardian dress discuss a domestic situation: one's husband Jack has been gambling with his father and can't send money for a month. Rather than panic, the "prudent maid" advises simply: "Send for Jack"—meaning the wife should summon her husband home immediately rather than accept his excuses. The joke targets both masculine irresponsibility (gambling, broken financial promises) and celebrates female assertiveness in marriage. It reflects early 1900s anxieties about male leisure activities and gambling's threat to household finances, while positioning the sensible woman as the solution to her husband's weakness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXVI. NEW YORK, DECEMBER 12, 1895. NUMBER Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1895, by Mircnent. & Mini few ph thiCanys ‘ gy sym. , be Ten vents } “Cops > & A PRUDENT MAID. “JACK WRITES HE HAS BEEN PLAYING POKER WITH PAPA, AND PAPA WRITES HE CAN'T POSSIBLY SEND ME A CHECK FOR A MONTH.” “WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU GOING To po?” “SEND FOR JACK.”