Life, 1896-12-03 · page 13 of 26
Life — December 3, 1896 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical letter to *Life* magazine's editor, dated December 1, 1896, mocking the USS Texas, a U.S. battleship apparently notorious for sinking or nearly sinking repeatedly. The writer, Carlton S. Moore, offers to create a reusable illustration of the Texas sinking, with interchangeable backgrounds (Newport, Norfolk, New York Navy Yards, the ocean) so *Life* can publish it multiple times as the ship inevitably sinks again. The joke lies in the pricing scheme: charging $100 for first use, declining with each subsequent sinking, down to $10 per sink after the 50th disaster—implying the Texas will sink so frequently that the image becomes worthless through overuse. The cartoon above shows figures stacked vertically, likely representing repeated identical occurrences or the absurd notion of the same disaster happening endlessly. This satirizes the ship's apparent chronic instability and mocks both the vessel's poor engineering and the public's morbid fascination with maritime disasters, a popular spectacle in 1890s America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
423 PRICE, $2.00. T° gaze upon the latest style Sometimes one has to pay. Last night I viewed a lovely hat, But did not sce the play. A GENEROUS OFFER. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., December 1, 1896. Eprror or Lire. Dear Sir: Recognizing the en- terprise of your paper, the writer is led to offer it the first chance at his brilliant scheme, which, if favorably considered, will cause to sink into insignificance all of the past under- takings of LIFE. He proposes to make an illustra- tion of the famous U, 8. battle-ship “Texas,” doing its regular periodi- cal sinking act. The ship will be so drawn that its outline can be cut out and pasted on such one of several backgrounds that will fit the scene of the current disaster. Such back- grounds will portray the favorite localities that have and will be pat- ronized by the Texas" in its work, such as Newport, Norfolk and New York Navy Yards, and old Ocean herself. The financial recompense of the inventor can be made by either one of two propositions hereby submitted : 1st. LIFE to purchase outright the original picture for $5,000, with the privilege of using it forall time with- out further claims from the artist and present owner. ad. Payment to be made by LiFe according to insertion. For the first publication, the price will be $100; for the second, $75; for the third, fourth and fifth appearance, $50 each; for the next five insertions, $25 each; for each time it is used from the eleventh to the fiftieth, inclusive, the writer to receive $20. After that, up to and including the one thous- andth sink, Sro per sink. It is expected that she will choose as the scene of her next exploit the picturesque background of Tomp- kinsville, Staten Island, N. Y., and the date, as near as can be ascer- tained at this writing, will be the asth inst., at 7.25 A. M. You will therefore perceive the importance of choosing your propo- sition at the earliest opportunity, that the picture, with appropriate surroundings, may be delivered in good season by, Very truly yours, Cartton S, Moore. F 3 5 3 3 2 ‘ g Z ‘ 5 3 3 3 2 3 3 8 ‘ comicbooks.com