Life, 1901-09-26 · page 5 of 20
Life — September 26, 1901 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Reflections of a Mirror—XVI" This satirical illustration depicts an indoor auction or estate sale scene. The caption indicates the narrator purchased items from a young couple's auctioned fortune, finding the acquisition "delighted" them. The scene shows well-dressed figures of varying social status gathered around what appears to be auction activities. The title "Reflections of a Mirror" suggests social commentary on wealth, class, and fortune—likely critiquing the era's economic disparities or the fate of once-wealthy families facing financial ruin. The ornate frame treatment and formal composition emphasize the scene's significance as social observation. Without additional context about the specific couple or event referenced, the broader satire appears to target early 20th-century attitudes toward inherited wealth and sudden financial reversal among the upper classes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
7 + 4 7 , J ¢ Z « 4 4 2 4 7 4% 4 4 , ‘ 4 , 4 A A eo y 7 2 4 7 pF id REFLECTIONS OF A MIRROR —XVI. Some time after this, the inn was given up and Its contents auctioned of, 1 was delighted to flud myself purchased by the young couple whose fortunes had so interested me before. comicbooks.com