Life, 1897-07-08 · page 6 of 20
Life — July 8, 1897 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers The top cartoon satirizes intellectual pretension at "the Higher Culture Society." A speaker presents to an assembled group, with the caption quoting Hon. Humphrey Slider claiming that entertainment and light reading matter more than serious intellectual pursuits. The joke mocks those who dress up shallow entertainment as "culture." Below, "Our Fresh-Air Fund" lists donors to a charitable cause, likely supporting poor urban children's access to countryside experiences—a common Progressive-era social reform. The bottom section reviews "Pink Marsh" by George Ade, describing it as dialect fiction about a "city nigger" character who engages in morally questionable behavior. The accompanying photograph titled "Some Who Have Not Gone to Life's Farm" shows urban poor, likely illustrating the book's subject matter. The content reflects early 1900s attitudes and terminology now recognized as offensive.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8, WHAT WE NEED IS TO FIX OUR MINDS ON MIG UR C RSATIONS, IN OUR ENTERTAINMENTS. OUR FRESH -AIR FUND. usly acknowledged....$952 49 ~ + a5 00 10 00 10 09 200 12 00 15 00 10 00 From F sasannonsns Rosalie Hooker, aged 4 years. Edward L. Coster SS “PINK MARSH,” AND OTHERS. HERE have been many kinds of negro dialect in fiction, but Mr. George Ade (author of Artie”) has sprung a new one on the public in “Pink Marsh” (H. S. Stone & Co.). This is the talk of a ‘city nigger" who blacks boots, plays policy and craps, talks philosophy SOME WHO HAVE NOT GONE TO LIFE’S FARM.