Life, 1898-07-07 · page 3 of 20
Life — July 7, 1898 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 3 This page contains a satirical cartoon titled "At the Waldorf-Astoria" depicting a scene between a man and woman at a fancy hotel. The caption reads: "Why, Tom, you never put your shoes out last night to be blacked!" / "No, my dear; I was afraid they would gild them in this hotel." **The Satire:** The joke mocks the Waldorf-Astoria's reputation for excessive luxury and presumed overpricing. The husband fears the hotel will unnecessarily embellish even basic services (gilding his shoes) and charge accordingly. It's commentary on wealthy establishments' perceived tendency to inflate costs through unnecessary elaboration. The accompanying article on "Guests" offers etiquette advice about entertaining visitors—straightforward social guidance typical of Life's satirical magazine content mixing humor with practical advice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WHY, Tow, Guests. UESTS divide themselves mainly into two classes: guests you want but can’t get, and guests you get but don’t want. When once you have secured your guest—or your guest has secured you— the next most important thing is to know what to do with him. This will take AT THE WALOORF-ASTORIA swe meuvoes |) YOU NEVER PUT YOUR SHORS OUT LAST NIGHT TO BR BLACKED!” “NO, MY DEAR; I WAS AFRAID THRY WOULD GILD THEM IN THIS HOTEL.” time, but don’t let that worry you in the slightest. You can quite safely count upon having all the time you want and to spare. A guest is never in a hurry ; why, therefore, should you be ? And so, having got your guest in the first place, and learned what to do with him in the second, all that remains is to ascertain how to get rid of him in the third, fourth, fifth, or any other place. This is a problem. Should you be acute or fortunate enough to come toa solution, slip on your hat and see how many min- utes it will take you to become a million- aire by selling your recipe to such of your suffering fellow-beings as can afford to pay you a handsome royalty per hour for the use of same. H. C. Boulthee,