Life, 1899-04-27 · page 1 of 20
Life — April 27, 1899 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page, April 27, 1899 The main cartoon, titled "A Sign of Promise," depicts a domestic scene with two figures in conversation. The caption indicates a widow discussing her late husband's death with someone named Raymond. The dialogue—"Has the widow given you any encouragement, Raymond?" followed by "Well, yes. When I asked her how long her husband had been dead, she said he had been dead just about long enough"—is a joke about courtship timing. The humor derives from the widow's oblique acceptance of Raymond's romantic interest, suggesting the husband's death was sufficiently distant to make new romance socially acceptable. This reflects 1890s social conventions regarding widow remarriage and acceptable mourning periods. The cartoon satirizes both courtship customs and the practical calculations involved in matrimonial prospects.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXXII. NEW YORK, APRIL 27, 1899. -- NUMBER 857. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Ciass Mail Matter. Copyright, 1899, by Lire PUBLISHING ComPaNy. prrhicans Sum s A SIGN OF PROMISE, “HAS TOR WIDOW GIVEN YOU ANY ENCOURAGEMENT, RAYMOND?" “WELL, YES, WHEN I ASKED HER HOW LONG NER HUSBAND DAD BEEN DEAD, SBE SAID NE MAD BEEN DEAD JUST ABOUT LONG ENOUGH.”