Life, 1899-03-16 · page 15 of 20
Life — March 16, 1899 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes contemporary social absurdities through mock-naturalist "studies." **Top section:** Three illustrated "specimens" mock modern follies: - The **Bumblepuppy** — a fashionable but pointless society pet people tolerate despite disdaining it, representing social pretense - The **Gold Eagle** — money/financial speculation, depicted as wingless yet able to "fly," criticizing how wealth operates without substance - The **Welsh Rabbit** — a dish (cheese on bread) presented as deceptively mild but creating nightmarish consequences, likely referencing indigestion or poor food quality **Bottom cartoon:** "The Up-to-Date Belle" shows a modern woman boasting of her automobile ("Patsy's ortermoble") while dismissing an older cab—mocking the newly wealthy flaunting consumer goods and abandoning tradition for fashionable modernity. The densely crowded street scene emphasizes how automobiles are becoming status symbols in American cities. Overall, the page ridicules 1910s American society's obsession with conspicuous consumption, financial speculation, and abandoning established values for trendy novelties.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Oneg HIS is the Bumblepuppy. tamo, : Although ho’s said to bo a sort of game. You scorn him, yot you must—ab, thore’s the rub— Accept him at your table or your club, He has his points, yet he’s a pest, indeed ; I would wo could exterminate tho breed. He's quite Priscitta Angelina Murphy: VM GOIN’ TER SHAKE YER RIGHT MERE, BILLY TICKS, ‘CAUSE YER AIN'T UP-TO-DATE ENOUGH FER ME. CAB WUZ ALL RIGHT, BUT IT AIN“T IN IT WID PATSY’S ORTERMOBLE. “ETHIE: STUDIES IN UNNATURAL HISTORY. ERE'S the Gold Eagle. They say This bird is worth ten dollars any day. Ho bas no wings, apparently, yet I, Or you, or anyone can make him fly. Ho's very powerful—hold in great esteom ; And money talks, go lot the eagle scream. Very rare. THE UP.TO.OATE BELLE, ORL 18 OVER BETWEEN U3. >EE the Welsh Rabbit—bo ts bred on cheoso; (Or cheose on bread, whichever way you please.) Although he's tough, ho looks so mild, who'd think That a strong man from this small beast would shrink? But close behind him follows tho nightmare, Beware of them, they are a frightful pair, ‘YER MANSUM