Life, 1901-11-21 · page 3 of 20
Life — November 21, 1901 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Horse(less) Show" This page satirizes high society's adoption of the automobile, mocking the wealthy socialites who've abandoned horse-drawn carriages. The poem catalogs fashionable people attending what appears to be a motorcar exhibition or social event, with names like "Miss Stuffe," "Tracey Nobs," and "Roger Wabble-Legs"—transparent ridicules of the elite classes. The title "Horse(less) Show" is a pun: it mimics traditional horse shows while emphasizing cars' novelty. The satirical tone mocks both the pretension of Society attending this new technology event and the absurdity that wealthy people now must learn to drive rather than simply ride horses. The cartoon's dialogue about doubling income reflects anxieties about automobiles' cost and the economic implications of this emerging technology for the upper class.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
DICCLOUS FOR YOU TO PALL IN LOVE WITH THAT ARTIST! 1 DON’T BELIEVE NE EVER SOLD A PicTURE.” “BUT, PAPA, ME SAYS IP IE MARRIES ME ME WON'T HAVE TO.” The Horse(less) Show. 'S Molly Fly (she's left the stage) In newest thing in coats, With Johnny Smart, who's come of age And now must sow his oats. There's Colonel Bluff behind his wife— Tis said they've had a spat; She leads the man a merry Just see her Paris hat! And Mrs. Bradley-Jones-Defue— Divorced, you know, to-day. That gown has cost a thou. or two Which Someone had to pay— But not her husband, so ‘tis told ! That's he, across the aisle (Her recent one, I mean). How bold They even bow and smile. Here's Reginald de Figurehead, Who wears his clothes but once. And old Miss Stuffe, in hunting red. She's rich, although a dunce. And Trixey Nitte—that stunning gown Is only plain batiste, And Roger Wabble-Legs, in brown, With trousers London creased. And Astor Soft with Kitty Greede! What gorgeous rings she wears! She puts in most her time, indeed Collecting solitaires. Yes, all Society is here! What's that? I missed the word. You ask for horses! Hush, my dear, They'll think you quite absurd. Edwin 1. Sabin, ‘WIFE: Seems to me that since we wero married you might at least have doubled your income. “What good would that have done?” “uy THERE! OLD MAN, WAKE UP AND UNWIND.” comicbooks.com