Life, 1903-02-26 · page 17 of 24
Life — February 26, 1903 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of humor satirizing American regional stereotypes. **"Correct"** (main text): A dialogue where a man describes his girlfriend using slang terms—"peach," "star," "warm baby," "hot stuff," "winner," "dream"—and his companion guesses her origin city based on these descriptors. The joke relies on each American city having an associated reputation: Baltimore for peaches, New Orleans for stars, Florida for warmth, Kentucky for heat, Saratoga for winners, Philadelphia for dreaminess, and finally New York as the catch-all for a woman possessing *all* desirable qualities. The satire mocks how Americans stereotyped different cities' "types" of attractive women. **Lower cartoon and dialogue**: A brief exchange about incompetence in courtship, where both parties admit to being defective lovers—mild satire on romance and gender relations. **Bottom caption**: References "little Jones boy" and prayer, likely alluding to a contemporary scandal or social commentary (context unclear from image alone). The overall tone targets American urban stereotyping and romantic pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN ALL-ABSORBING LOVE. Correct. = M* best girl is a peach.” “Then she must be from Baltimore.” “No, sir. She's not only a peach, but a star.” “Ah, I see. New Orleans.” “No, She's not only a peach and astar, but a warm baby.” “Florida.” “Guess again. I might say that, in addition to the things I have mentioned, she is hot stuff." “Kentucky “Not yet. And besides all these, she is a winner.” “Ah, [know. Saratoga.” * You must do better than that. Perhaps I should also remark that she is a dream.” “Now I know. Philadelphia.” “Once more to the front. Re- member now, she is a peach and a star, a warm baby and hot stuff, a winner and a dream.” “New York !” “Right!” . GHE: You make love like a novice. He: Then we're both defective. LT ought to make love like an expert, and you ought not to know the differ- ence, HERE is more to be learned from one living woman than from a *wawwA,t Don't BELigve THAT LITTLE JONES woY 1860 Yeny BAD—uEsAID ‘Dawn’ Topsy, Wholo Smithsonian museum of an- BUT THEN HE PUT Gop BEPoRE It!" thropology. comicbooks.com