Life, 1897-10-07 · page 1 of 20
Life — October 7, 1897 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine, October 7, 1897 This page features a single-panel cartoon titled "A Small Pocket" by Stan Law (signature visible). Two well-dressed gentlemen in top hats converse, with one explaining their mistaken gold-mining venture. The caption reads: "How did that gold mine pan out?" / "All a mistake. We had been prospecting in an abandoned graveyard, and had assayed the dust of a graduate from a gold-cure institute." **The Satire:** This jokes about the "gold-cure" movement—a late-19th century medical fad claiming to cure alcoholism and other ailments using gold treatments. The cartoon mocks these fake cure institutes by suggesting prospectors mistakenly assayed remains of someone treated there, implying the "gold-cure" was worthless fraud—literally producing nothing but dust.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXX. NEW YORK, OCTOBER 7, 1897. NUMBER 772. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mai! Matter Copyright, 1897, by Mrrcmmt, & Mitizn. iq LRICA NY jvm. vé .STAN bAws, A SMALL POCKET. “MOW DID THAT GOLD MINE PAN OUT?” “ALL A MISTAKE. WE HAD BEEN PROSPECTING IN AN ABANDONED GRAVEYARD, AND HAD ASSAYED THE DUST OF A GRADUATE FROM A GOLD-CURE INSTITUTE,” comicbooks.com