Life, 1903-08-27 · page 5 of 20
Life — August 27, 1903 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three unrelated satirical pieces: **"Progress"** jokes about Peter, a pumpkin-eater who couldn't keep his wife and dragged her from social events—then kept her "very well" (suggesting imprisonment). **"Archaeology"** mocks scholarly debate over an ancient American manuscript dated to 1000 A.D. The learned world argued about "what was a cradle?" until an archaeologist suggested a typographical error: "The hand that *rockefeller's* rules the world" (not "rocks the cradle"). This satirizes both academic pedantry and the Rockefeller family's enormous wealth and influence in early 20th-century America. **"More Resilient"** discusses air-filled mattresses' seasonal resilience, comparing spring months' superior air quality—light satirical commentary on product marketing. The page's dominant image shows a dramatic scene with emotional dialogue about love and separation, though context is unclear.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Progress. He dragged her from the social hell, And then he kept her very well. TM. Archeology. HE manu script was clearly Amer- ican and about a thousand years old, which would make it out to be of the twentieth century, A. D. Scholars had no great difficulty in construing the contents, except for the words : “The hand that rocks the cradle rales the world."* “ What was a cradle? was the question that the entire learned world was presently asking it- self. Finally, an ingenious archiwologist suggested : “Perbaps there is a typographical error. Does it not mean, ‘The hand that's Rockefeller's rules the world And this explanation, because of its consonance with independent leg- ends, was generally ac- cepted. More Resilient. st C URair mattresses,” said the dealer, re all filled in the months of April, May and June, That accounts for their remarkably re- silient qualities,” Is the air of those months better than others ?’* “They are the spring months, you know.” She: «LIFE NEVER SATISFIED. He (fervently): 1 Love YOU MORE, DARLANO She (sighing): 1 Wisi 1 COULD BE WITH YOU THEN DO YoU LOVE: ME AS MUCH WHEN YoU ARE AWAY FROM MET 193 comicbooks.com