Life, 1899-11-23 · page 5 of 20
Life — November 23, 1899 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 405 This page contains two distinct pieces of satire from circa 1900: **"Not a Mastodon After All"** mocks a School Board resident whose attempt to exclude Henry Holt Company publications from schools backfired—making him look foolish rather than authoritative. **"Life's Fashions for 1900"** presents two fashion mockeries: the top caption references "the choker business price for ward politicians" (suggesting corrupt officials adopt restrictive neckwear), while the bottom shows "the duffly octino flannel: sailor suit"—a sailor in an exaggerated octagonal or circle-shaped outfit. The sailor illustration satirizes impractical fashion trends affecting even naval uniforms. Both pieces use visual absurdity to critique institutional and sartorial pretension of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
<— Not:a Mastodon After All. RESIDENT LITTLE, of the @ School Board, is the person who was designated, on what was considered good authority, ‘‘a fine, old, educativnal mastodon.” Lire pointed out at the time that this was unjustly severe on the mas- todon, subsequent events all bearing out the correctness of our statements. In Widower with three chttar GIVING DAY, INDE! trying to exclude from the schools all the publications of Henry Holt and Company, he has planned a scheme for vengeance too petty and contemptible for the traditional mastodon to endorse with- out a blusb. It will be a happy day for the dignity of the School Board when this venomous official is retired to the deepest ob- security. LIFE’S FASHIONS FOR 1900. Shim cnonER BUSINESS FROCK POR WARD POLITICIANS. “ D” you have a good passage?” was asked of a recent traveler. “Fair; but I couldn't sleep, The first three nights I couldn't tell whether to shut the porthole and go to bed, or to close the bed and go to the porthole, And the last three I spent in reading the Customs Laws,” EACHER (fo class): octopus? SMa1 Boy (who has just commenced to take Latin), eagerly: Please, sir, 1 know, sir; it’s an eight-sided cat. What is an ‘THE DEPEW OUTING FLANNEL. SAILOR SUTP.