Life, 1904-02-25 · page 3 of 26
Life — February 25, 1904 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration depicts four formally dressed figures on a snowy street—a woman, a small child, a man in a top hat, and another man. The caption reads "The Married One: The Single One:" with "LUCKY DOG!" written below. This is a social satire contrasting married versus unmarried life. The "lucky dog" reference suggests the single man is envied for his freedom, while the married man is burdened with family obligations (the woman and child). The joke reflects early 20th-century attitudes about marriage as a constraint on male independence. The page also contains humorous dialogue pieces ("Nature Converse," "Babies," "An Estimate") presenting witty exchanges between characters on mundane topics—typical of *Life* magazine's satirical content style during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nature Converse. AID the river to the hill: “Can't you check my current’s flow ? ‘Tho’ I'm in the running still, Lam feeling pretty low.” Said the hill unto the river: “ Shut your gaping mouth, you clam. I'ma very cheerful giver, But I never give a dam.” Said the river in reply : * Don’t be keeping up the bluff. Roll a boulder from on high ; A little boulder is enough.” “When I get a little bolder,” Said the hill, “than now I am, I may drop the bluff, you scolder, But I'll never give a dam.” Wm. D, Nugent. The Married One: |, i The Single One; ( *UCKY DOO Babies. \WV HEN the May baby and the June baby had got well acquainted, they exchanged confidences. “My milk comes from a certified cow,”’ said the May baby. “So does mine,”’ said the June baby. “Itis milked by a man in a white suit, with sterilized hands, through rbent cotton, and kept at a tem- perature of forty-five degrees."’ “So is mine.” “It is brought to me in a prophy- lactic wagon drawn by a modified horse.’* “So is mine.”’ “Then how in thunder do you man- age to be so fat and well?" The June baby winked slyly. “chew old paper and the corners of the rugs and anything I can find that is dirty, and in that way I man- age to maintain the bacterial balance which is essential to health,” he said, chuckling. The May baby laughed long and loud. “So do I,” said he. The mammas heard the goo-gooing, but they assigned to it only the usual fantastic significance. It was just as well. An Estimate. ‘PAPA, how far up is Heaven?” “Oh, about two office build- ings.” comicbooks.com