Life, 1897-03-04 · page 5 of 20
Life — March 4, 1897 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 167 This page satirizes British resistance to American automobile innovation. The two illustrated figures represent contrasting attitudes: a younger man in modern dress (left) and an older, traditional gentleman (right), appearing to debate transportation methods. The caption references a railway carriage accident in England and jokes about an enemy's head being "clean off" before reaching someone's nose—dark humor about the dangers of outdated British rail travel. The accompanying text criticizes British attachment to their existing railway system despite safety concerns. The satire suggests Americans, who embrace "safer" automobiles, find it ironic that the English stubbornly cling to traditional carriages and railways rather than adopt modern American cars. This reflects early 20th-century American confidence in automotive progress versus perceived British conservatism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“OP THINE ENEMY SMITE THEE ON THE RIGHT CheEX—" “LOOK OUT RETTER FOR HIM NEXT TIME, AND SO MUCH AS A FOOT OF YOUR Nosr.” A, NOTHER woman has been mur- dered in an ‘English railway and London is disturbed. mericans, who think our sort of cars so very much safer for women traveling alone than the railway car- riages of Europe, will wonder whether this last lesson may not be effectual, and be followed by the introduction of American cars. Probably it won't. The English like their railway vebi- cles, and are Joath to change them. They will no more give up their car- riages because they cost an occasional POUND HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF REFORE HE CAN GET WITHIN woman her life than we will dispense with cable and trolley cars because they run over a small army of people every year. If you give us what we want in this world, we will gamble on the chance that it will disagree with some of us,