Life, 1903-07-16 · page 1 of 20
Life — July 16, 1903 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine, July 16, 1903 This page features a satirical illustration titled "Life" showing two figures in a garden setting near Boston. A man with a spade stands beside a woman in elaborate dress and a large hat. The caption reads: "He: ARE YOU SURE YOU SAW A SNAKE? WAS IT SO, IT WAS A—OH, A HORSE-SUPPORTER?" The joke appears to satirize early 1900s fashion, specifically women's corsetry and support garments. The "horse-supporter" reference likely mocks the exaggerated understructure needed to maintain the S-bend silhouette fashionable at the time. The woman's dramatically curved posture supports this interpretation—she's so rigidly corseted that her companion mistakes her rigid form for something other than natural anatomy. This reflects contemporary satirical commentary on the impracticality and artificiality of Edwardian women's fashion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XLII. NEW YORK, JULY 16, 1903. CPHL NUMBER 1081. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Ciass Mall Matter. Copyright, 1902, by Lirs PcBLisHiNG ComPaxy. ~ PROPERTY OF. Ne MIODLETOHN GLU, NOT TO BE MUTILATED, NEAR BOSTON. JAKEN FROM THE BUILL“ Wu. He: Ane YOU SURE YOU SAW A SNAKE? WAS Low “XO, IT WAS A—OH, A HOSE-SUPPORTER Stree comicbooks.com