Life, 1907-11-07 · page 20 of 50
Life — November 7, 1907 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical illustrated story by Oliver Herford about courtship and economics. The narrative follows Bertie Van Ordinaire (a "man of parts"—a visual pun showing him literally disassembled as pen-and-ink components) who falls instantly in love with one of two rival beauties: the wealthy Ethelberta or poor Angelina, daughter of Bishop Van Brut. The accompanying essay on "Economy" satirizes women's obsessive shopping habits, suggesting they're skilled at stretching allowances across months. It humorously traces this vice to biblical times, claiming Solomon accumulated gold before marrying many wives—implying women's extravagance is ancient and inevitable. The joke mocks both female spending and the men who indulge it, presenting economics as a "fascinating pursuit" for the wealthy but irresponsible for the poor. The artwork demonstrates Herford's illustrative technique through deliberate artificiality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
544 LEE > The Astonishing Tale of a Pen and Ink Puppet Or, The Genteel Art of Illustrating By Oliver Herford berta and Angelina are Rival Beauties, consequently they hough Ethelberta is the heires 5 xd Angelina, the portionless child of poor Bishop Van Brut, whose parely fifty thousand a year. Bertie Van Ordinaire is a man of parts, These are of the parte. Economy CONOMY is the science of buying a $2 hat for $3.75 when a good one may be had for $4. It is a harmless and fascinating pursuit for those who can afford it, but a poor man has no business to fritter away his time and substance on such extravagances. Women are par- ticularly addicted to it, and often become so skilful that they are able to get through January without encroaching on their April allowance. Men who have such wives are naturally very proud of them, and are willing to re double their efforts, if necessary, in order to provide them with the means to develop the habit. That economy is of ancient origin is shown by the fact that Solomon was par- ticular to corner the yellow metal before he accumulated a great many wives. Walter F. Rice. Bertie falls in love at first sight comicbooks.com