Life, 1896-07-30 · page 11 of 18
Life — July 30, 1896 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains a satirical section titled "Life's Guide to the Metropolis" focused on New York City. The top image shows rooftop advertisements for period products (Dana's Sunwash, corsets, "For Filth Read The World," and Roosevelt Cocktails), with a steamboat on the Hudson River below—satirizing commercial clutter and urban development. The lower image depicts the Brooklyn Bridge with figures appearing to jump from it, captioned "The Brooklyn Bridge on a Quiet Day." This is dark satire about suicide, apparently a recognized urban problem at the time. The accompanying text describes New York's geography and tourist attractions in a tongue-in-cheek manner, mixing genuine tourist information with sardonic commentary on city life and visitors from across America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CONSERVATIVE, T HOUGH ‘money talks,” ‘tis safe to bet. Whate'er it has to say, It never has been known as yet To ** give itself away.” REMOVES REPUTATIONS LIFE’S GUIDE TO THE METROPOLIS. LOCATION. N EW YORKCITY, easily located on any good map of Ireland, is bounded on the north by Albany, on the cast by Italy, on the south by Benjamin Tillman and on the west by W. J. Bryan. Until recently New York was situated at Broadway and 33d Street, but it now extends from 31st Street and Fifth Avenue for twelve blocks north. In this vicin- ity a good meal and a bed can be obtained at a trifling cost and free baths are pro- vided for visitors in the reservoir at 42nd Street. One of the best taverns in this region is the Waldorf, where THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE ON A QUIET FOR FILTH READ THE WORLD Pritt: 4 SCENT DAI VIEW OF THE PALISADES. a good night’s lodging will cost the traveler 15 cents, or if the Waldorf is full, the Union League Club offers a hearty welcome to all. APPROACHES. As New York proper is situated on an island, it can only be approached by water, several bridges being pro- vided for those who cannot swim. From Albany one can float down the Hudson, and nearing the city our visitor will be enthralled and enraptured by a sight of the Palisades, offering, as they do, so much of interest to the spectator, and revealing in advance the high- minded enterprise of some of our leading citizens. The footpaths over the Harlem river are also a popular method of ap- proach, and the most largely patronized; thousands annually availing themselves of this privilege, coming in from the West, from the land of Hiawatha, Timbuctoo and South Dakota, San Francisco, Pasedena, New Orleans and grim Chicago, actors all, and all impatient to arrive on the Rialto where they love to loaf and linger. THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. This structure was built in odd moments by a man living in Brooklyn who comicbooks.com