Life, 1905-12-07 · page 15 of 60
Life — December 7, 1905 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several Christmas-themed pieces of humor: **Main Illustration**: A dramatic nighttime scene showing a figure (Santa Claus) entering through a chimney or doorway—a visual accompanying the romantic poem "To Santa Claus" by Julian Durand, which asks Santa to deliver the speaker's heart to his beloved. **"A Wish"**: A dialect-humor piece featuring two poor Black children discussing a Christmas tree. They express wishes for Jesus to have had multiple incarnations or for God to provide more abundance. This reflects the era's common (and offensive) practice of depicting African Americans in exaggerated dialect for comic effect. **"Divided"**: A brief joke about a woman marrying a Mormon man—satirizing polygamy by suggesting she owns only an "eighth interest" in her husband, alluding to multiple wives. **"Nothing Else"**: A quip about a wealthy man's only concerns being his leisure pursuits, suggesting he has no serious responsibilities or worries. The humor ranges from sentimental romance to social satire about wealth and religious practice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NuMBER 1206. Pubilsbed every Thunday by Lire Prassmxo Comraxy, 17 West Thirty-irtt St, New York. $5.00a year in advance. “HOW TIME FLIES! AND 1 FILLED THEIR STOCK! To Santa Claus. HOU who dost ride behind the reindeer fleet,— Who sittest proudly in thy robes of fv And hi est not how the thermometer In silence marketh f. Thou who dost way from heat ; ave the chimni y's flue to greet The young and old,—wizard and sorcerer, Take thou my heart and give it all to her, O Santa Claus, when thou dost sce my Sweet! ¢ visit thou shalt make, ht stealing softly to her side; lenvy thee ¢! A sill But | morn awake, She find my heartand say, Lote, here abide! Julian Durand. and shalt take stockin; as glorified ; I bless, HRISTMAS in Christm: reality comes three times a year—at and before and after. DecemBer 7, 1905. WHED THEY WERE TOTS.” A Wish. FTER a ‘Christmas tr children in the South Littte Manny: Whoee! I tell ye! Chris’mus trees ! or three burfd Betty: Ye chillun! ‘given for poor colored I certainly likes Betty, don’t you wisht Jesus had two stid ob jist one ? sir!—or dat God had jist a heap mo’ Divided. “* QHE married a Mormon, didn’t she?" “ Well, she took an eighth interest in one.” Nothing Else. D HAWAY: Don’t you think that for such a wealthy chap, Duffins takes his pleasures seriously? Ctrverton: He has to. They are all he has to worry about. comicbooks.com