Life, 1901-02-28 · page 1 of 20
Life — February 28, 1901 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation of Life Magazine Cartoon (February 28, 1901) This cartoon satirizes international marriage customs, specifically the clash between European aristocratic traditions and American practices. Two military officers in formal dress appear to be dueling or discussing a duel scenario. The dialogue reveals the joke: a European Baron has married an American woman and is scandalized that she uses a fork while eating—apparently expecting different dining etiquette. The Baron proposes a duel over this breach of aristocratic propriety ("Your face! Dueling again, at your age and so recently married?"). The satire mocks both European pretentiousness about rigid social conventions and the contrast with more casual American habits. It reflects early 1900s American attitudes about the superiority of American practical customs over stuffy European formality, presented humorously through the absurdity of dueling over table manners.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 28, 1901. NUMBER 956, Entered at the New York Post Office as Second.Ciass Mall Matter. Copyright, 1900, by Lire PuBLisniNe Company, at “san 1 a > The Count; DEAR ME, BARON, YOUR FACE! DUELLING AGAIN, AT YOUR AGE AND 80 RECENTLY ManniED? The Baron; acu, No! 17 18 MY AMERICAN WIFE. 6IE MAKES ME EAT WITH A FonK! i her an)