Life, 1908-05-07 · page 3 of 48
Life — May 7, 1908 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily advertising** with one small cartoon. The cartoon (lower left) shows an office scene with the caption: "HOW QUIET THE OFFICE BOY IS!" / "YES—I JUST RAISED HIS SALARY. HE THINKS IT'S A DREAM AND IS AFRAID HE'LL WAKE UP." **The joke**: Satirizes a boss's miserly nature—he's so stingy that when he gives a modest raise, the office boy is shocked into stunned silence, fearing it's too good to be true. The humor relies on the period expectation that employers paid minimal wages and workers were perpetually anxious about their precarious economic position. The surrounding ads (White Rose soap, Brooks Brothers clothing, Viyella flannel) represent typical early-1900s consumer goods marketed in *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~~ o mores Furnishing hi Flannels for Town or Country; Straws and Panama Hats; Russia Calf and Buckskin Shoes Send for Illustrated Catalogue. BROADWAY Con. TWENTY SECOND ST., NEW YORK WIYELLA’ FLANNEL New Spring Designs for 1908 Plaids! Stripes! Solid Colours! FOR Shirt Waists, Shirt Waist Suits, Dressing Sacks and Children’s Garments, Men’s Golfing Shirts, Pajamas, Etc. “VIYELLA” can be obtained at the leading Dry Goods Stores and Men’s Furnishers “HOW QUIET THE OFFICE BOY Is!” “YES—I JUST RAISED HIS SALARY. HE THINKS IT’S A DREAM “eee D 0 ES N 0 T § H R | N K comicbooks.com