Life — November 5, 1896 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical theatrical advertisement cartoon mocking New York businesses advertised through theater scenery. A female figure (labeled "Ophelia," referencing Shakespeare) sits amid exaggerated backdrop signs for various establishments: diamond merchant Levi Cohen, lawyer Abraham Bummel (specializing in divorces and breach of promise suits), oyster restaurant Simons, and Plonsky's shoe store. The joke critiques how American theater backdrops had become cluttered with commercial advertising rather than serving artistic purposes. The reference to "Ophelia" suggests this mocks the degradation of legitimate theater. The sardonic caption notes these "budding American theatrical" advertisements, satirizing how commercialism was invading cultural spaces. This reflects turn-of-the-century anxieties about American materialism overtaking artistic integrity.