Life, 1901-10-31 · page 7 of 20
Life — October 31, 1901 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Looking for a Girl" - Life Magazine Satire This page satirizes a young man's fruitless search for a romantic partner on a busy city street. The poem describes his increasingly desperate mental state—a "whirl" of consciousness—as he encounters various types of girls (tall, short, shy, bold, etc.) without finding "the one." The illustration shows a crowded urban street scene with a solitary figure in the center, surrounded by well-dressed pedestrians and onlookers, emphasizing his isolation amid the crowd. The satire mocks both romantic idealization and the modern urban dating experience. The protagonist's obsessive, almost delirious search—and his detailed mental cataloging of female "types"—parodies male courtship anxiety and the bewildering abundance of choices in city life, suggesting romantic fulfillment remains elusive despite opportunity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WAS standing on the corner Of a very busy street ; I was anxiously awaiting For a friend I wished to meet. Thad waited twenty minutes And my brain was in a whirl: I was looking for a girl. + LIFE * Looking for a Girl. Tall girls, short girls, girls of middle he Stout girls, thin girls, girls of brawn might ; Young girls, old girls, girls of every age; And the dreamy matinée girl from the fasb- ion paper's page. I maintained my careful vigil Though my eyes were growing weak ; I was just a trifle dizzy And a flush was in my cheek. Thad waited forty minutes And my brain was in a whirl: I was waiting for a gir). Prim girls, trim girls, girls of every rare girls, girls with angel Prude girls, rude girls, bashful girls and shy ; ’ And the girl of comic opera with the naughty little eye. 1 grew faint, and weak, and thirsty, And my back was bent with pain ; I felt a strange sensation At the bottom of my brain. I had waited sixty minutes, With my luckless brain awhirl : Just waiting for a girl. Pale girls, frail girls, girls of slender waist; Blonde girls, brunette girls, girls of paint and paste ; Gibson girls, Christie girls, girls both mild ‘and rash ; And the supple-limbed athletic girl who always "cuts a dash.” Beware my fate, kind reader, Should you chance upon these lines; A little ten by seven now My wasted self confines. They tell me that I'm harnule That my brain is in a whirl All through looking for a girl. Celt girls, svelte girls, girls cut & la mode ; Quiet girls, riot girls, girls who've “seen the road"; Bright girls, slight girls, all make a phantom new That passes through my mind in vague kaleidoscopic view, Joseph Ratton Loughry. comicbooks.com