Life — May 5, 1898 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# The Mayflower This illustration depicts the Mayflower, the ship that carried Pilgrims to America in 1620. The image shows the historic vessel beached or in shallow water with crowds of people gathered on the shore below. The artist has signed the work "W.A. Mackay '28," indicating this is from 1928. The caption reads: "THE MAYFLOWER. SIZE AS COMPUTED FROM THE DESCENDANTS AND FURNITURE NOW WITH US." The satire appears to mock the exponential growth of Americans claiming Mayflower ancestry by the 1920s. The joke suggests that if all the people who claimed descent from Mayflower passengers were actually on board, the ship would need to be absurdly massive. This critiques Americans' inflated genealogical claims and nostalgia for early colonial heritage.