Life, 1900-04-12 · page 5 of 20
Life — April 12, 1900 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 317 The top cartoon "Spring-Up to Date" depicts an idle wealthy woman in a hammock, attended by servants and a small child, embodying leisure-class leisure. The accompanying smaller illustrations labeled "Three Tales of Hero Worship" show children in various scenarios—playing, boating, and in crowded scenes—satirizing how children emulate different social types. The poem "Ubi Lapsus? Quid Feci?" (Latin: "Where did I fall? What did I do?") mocks upper-class Boston aspirations, referencing "Nahant" (an elite resort) and the pretentious markers of old-money status: market connections, mountain visits, and social visiting lists. The final joke "Careless" plays on absent-mindedness about a hat, typical light humor for the era. The satire targets idle wealth and class pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*LIPE * SPRING—UP TO DATE, THREE TALES OP IERO WORSHIP. Ubi Lapsus? Quid Feci? H !—to be born in Boston, In tho chill of a winter’s day, To tho family-treo of a social grandeo And tho tap of a pap frappé. With a cousin ut every corner, And on every street an aunt; To bo known ‘who you aro” on tho littlo * green car,” And your family scat—Nahant, With your “old man” strong in “the market"; In mourning, mamma “so missed!” A “bunter” or twoand a Trinity pew, And a vanishing visiting list. Yes; oh !—to be born in Boston. Stoggod in by a spectacled stork; In that great social spawn—'tis the placo to be born, But, yo gods! Let me live in Now York! HTN, Careless. OCTOR: Where's my hat, 1 wonder? Assistant: Weren't you oper- ating for appendicitis just now? “Yes, but where's my hat?” “ Perhaps you left it in him.”