Life — May 1, 1902 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Crooked Tale" - Political Satire This Life magazine cartoon satirizes corruption through the nursery rhyme "There Was a Crooked Man." The illustration depicts a bent, skeletal figure in a prison cell, holding a bowl—visualizing the phrase "who made a crooked deal" and showing consequences of dishonest dealings. The accompanying verse parodies the original rhyme, replacing each line with corruption-related terms: "crooked man," "crooked deal," "crooked fortune," "crooked steal," "crooked wife," and "crooked name." The final line suggests social ostracism—"they live apart in very crooked fame." The cartoon functions as moral commentary on 19th/early 20th-century American corruption, using the familiar children's verse to mock crooked politicians or businessmen and their ultimate downfall and public shame.