Life, 1904-06-16 · page 3 of 22
Life — June 16, 1904 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top illustration, titled "As We Expand," depicts wealthy women in an automobile discussing domestic staff problems. The caption indicates complaint about servants—a common upper-class concern of the early 20th century. The satire mocks privileged women's grievances about household help while society faced larger issues. The "Sonnets of Schooldays" section presents humorous dialect verses about schoolgirl experiences, appearing to be light comic poetry rather than serious satire. "A Pessimistic Outlook" features a character named Jones listing modern annoyances—indigestion from "Perfection Breakfast Food," self-injury from a safety razor, and transportation delays. This satirizes both consumer product failures and the disappointments of modern convenience goods marketed as improvements. The joke: new technology and mass-produced foods often disappointed users despite promotional claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AS WE EXPAND. Fair Martian: so 6 RTMDORN ! 1 ASSURE VOU WE GET VERY LoNesoste AT Trates WORST OF LIVING IN te Sonnets of Schooldays. SONNET OF THE LAMENTATION: WER ant is sick thee wun thats gott hinks ile bee hur air ann ff i gett thee do nny ile bete willy peerson yet. at mi uther gurl away frum me Too henry beamus partty becuz i butt wenn ime rich shee! kum rite back, Wood be in mor ano thena ile lett hur kum until he rithes ann henry sez iff he noo wenn sheed go Hlusy ann pane ann mones and sithes nile kast hur off acn bidd hur ¢ plade me fals ann tel hur sc ap shee duzzent di butt iff thee wurst ann iff shee dize this weke thenn t kant yo fore bur wich is wi, Heed hav his parrty jusst a day ur so befoar shee dide butt u kan neaver tel how long thale liv, shee may lasst kwite 3 spel Shood kum i hoap weel hav thee parrty (urst, for wimmen hoove got lotts uv stuf wao 7. W. Fotey Moast alwus doo thare dyen offul slo, A Pessimistic Outlook. “* TM about sick of civilization,” said Jones, with aweary smile. Just look at the happenings of one week. I've jotted down a tew that I can re- member : * Had indigestion after eating a dish of Perfection Breakfast Food. “Cut myself with a safety razor, ‘Was delayed two hours going to bust- 1 hoap shee duzzent di butt iff she hast too mete hur fait i hoap thatt shee wil tasst tl aftur henrys parrty bec Ur goen too giv jo ames ive gott mi dishpann reddy ana thee boize Ur awl prepaired to raze ano offul noize. uv kors iff ante dize thatt fickses mee Fore ile bee with thee morners doant u see Ann feal So sadd i woodunt care toc Nott eaven wenn thare shivvereean jo ness by a break- down on the Rapid Transit. ‘Fountain pen wouldn't = work— «had to dip it. ‘Suffered agony getting a tooth ex- tracted at a pain- less dental office. ‘Broke my un- breakable suspend- ers, ‘Lost ten dollars by taking an abso- lutely sure tip on the races, ‘Had to order a stove for oursteam- heated flat. ‘Gave away two sets of non-shrink- able underwear to the janitor’s be couldn't get them on. * Paid three dol- lars to have my dust-proof watch cleaned.” “Well, that’s not all,”’ he concluded, “butit’s enough to make one wish for the stone age again,”” GM. 1. Brown. “ DOWN AND OUT.” comicbooks.com