Life, 1911-08-24 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 24, 1911 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes infidelity and beach vacation behavior. A man sits on the beach writing a woman's name in the sand while his wife stands nearby watching disapprovingly. The caption suggests he's written "Tootsie" (a flirtatious nickname for an attractive woman) instead of his wife's name "Jane." The joke targets married men who flirt with or become distracted by other women while on vacation with their wives. The man's excuse—that it was merely "a slip of the stick" (an accidental marking in the sand)—is transparently dishonest. The wife's stern expression indicates she's unconvinced by this obvious lie. This reflects early 20th-century *Life* magazine's frequent satire of male infidelity, marital tension, and the gap between men's excuses and reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OMNES SS Sw 17/4), a WRITE YOUR WIFE'S NAME, IF ANY, ON THE SANDS. IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO CONVINCE HER THAT ‘TWAS A MERE SLIP OF THE STICK MADE IT ‘ TOOTSIE” INSTEAD oF “ JANE” comicbooks.com