Life, 1909-10-21 · page 13 of 32
Life — October 21, 1909 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes medical vivissection (operating on living animals) through a humorous visual pun. The illustration shows a cat knocked backward by what appears to be a explosion of smaller cats or cat-like creatures bursting upward from an operating table—a literal interpretation of the old saying that "the cat has nine lives." The caption reads: "A doctor who forgot that the cat has nine lives," suggesting the doctor underestimated his subject's resilience or vitality. The accompanying text pieces ("Great White Way" and "Conceited Bridge Player") appear unrelated jokes from the same magazine page. This cartoon likely mocked both animal research practices and the superstition about cats' multiple lives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE PERILS OF VIVISECTION A DOCTOR WHO FORGOT THAT THE CAT MAS NINE LIVES Great White Way (Mr. Kipling, please pardon!) Y the old mosque-like longin’ for a spree, There's a chorus girl a-strollin’, an’ I know she thinks o” me; For there's bubble-fizz at Rector’s, an’ the cable gongs they say: “Come you back, you Choc'late Soldier, you back to th’ Great White asino, lookin’, Come you back to th’ Great Whi Where the whole flotilla play; Can't you ‘ear their glasses clinkin’ clear from Burns’ to th’ Great White Way? On the crowded Great White Way, Where the angels always pay, Way, An’ the dawn comes up like thunder “fore you know it—so they say! "Er petticoat was yaller, and ‘er cart- wheel ‘at was green, ‘er name was Alexandra—jes’ the same as Britain's Queen: An’ I seed ‘er first a-smokin’ of a five. An’ cent cigarette, An’ a-wastin’ Christian “eathen suffragette. kisses on an Bloomin’ suffragette—a freak What they catled the “ Arab Sheik"; Plucky jot she cared for idlers, when I kissed ‘er on the cheek! On the loaded Great White Way, ete. Ship me somewheres north of Murray's, where the best is like the worst, Where there aren't no Ten Command ments, an’ a man can raise a thirst able gongs are callin there that I would be- By the old mosque-like Casino, jes’ be ginnin’ of a spr On the crowded Great V A. F For the e¢ Way, ete Andrews. EITED Come here Cc BRIDGE PLAYER and sit by me, Kittic You can learn a good deal by watching my game. Kirti No, thanks. I never could profit by other people’s mis takes. Quiextoxaue T is absolutely impossible to say what we think. The best we can do is to think what we say. comicbooks.com