Life, 1899-01-26 · page 20 of 20
Life — January 26, 1899 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon illustrates a social embarrassment common to the Victorian era: arriving at a dinner invitation on the wrong date. The sketch shows a well-dressed couple discovering their hosts mid-meal discussing "two chops"—indicating a meager dinner of just lamb chops, suggesting the household was unprepared for unexpected guests. The satire targets the anxiety of upper-class social etiquette. The phrase "Moonshine" (a contemporary term for nonsense or exaggeration) suggests the hosts are making excuses or being evasive about their sparse meal. The joke lies in the awkward predicament: the visitor has intruded on a humble dinner, catching the hosts in an embarrassing situation where they cannot adequately entertain. This reflects period concerns about maintaining proper social appearances and the mortification when one's circumstances—or one's mistake—expose financial limitations. The remainder of the page consists primarily of period advertisements for alcohol and tobacco.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TIMES OF TRIAL. WHEN YOU MISTASE THE DATE OP A DINNER INVITATION AND ARKIVE ON THE WRONG DAY, TO FIND YOUR HOSTS DISCUSSING TWO CHOPS,—Moonshine, e) Tho Ideal French Tonic FOR BODY AND BRAIN Since 1963, Endorsed by Medical Paculty, || immediate lasting __ efficacious agreeable Kentucky Whiskey ia will always hold first place for distilling fine qualities of Whiskies. No other State in the Union turns out anything like such quality as our OLD CROW RYE Buy only of relinble deal- H. B. KIRK & CO., Sole Bottlers, N. Y. Agents for the Great Western Champagne. le LONDON, which is the greatest wine market of the world, prices are estab- lished solely on quality. The price of POMMERY is higher there than that of other Cham- pagnes. It is higher, » too, in the esti- ‘ong recognized the marked superi- ority of POMMERY as possessing the delicate ilavor and finesse so highly appreciated by connoisseurs. CHAS. GRAEF & CO., Sole Agents for the U. S. 32 Beaver Street, New York NECESSITY TO SMOKERS OF REFINED TASTE ~ MADE IN CAIRO ~ CIGARETTES Bounp VOLUME XXXII. LIFE READY FOR DELIVERY FEBRUARY ist. Five hundred and sixty pages of text and illustrations, Hand- somely bound in green and gold, red and gold, or full black. Price, $%.00. The bound volume of LIFE is an ornament to any library. If you have the numbers comprising this volume, we will exchange them for the bound volume for 3 $2.00. # = Life Publishing Company, 19 West ast St.,N.Y. ‘- KERRERRERERERRERER EER DEIR