Life — January 11, 1912 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon mocks the antiques trade and wealthy collectors' obsession with "genuine" old items. The central figure is a woman selling various worn-out objects as valuable antiques—a stuffed parrot, old furniture, broken items—each labeled with dubious authenticity claims ("Guaranteed Genuine," "Original Condition" despite visible damage). The smaller vignettes satirize related absurdities: a man buying a fish from a fisherman (likely commenting on unnecessary middlemen or paying premium prices for common goods), women fawning over "old stuff," and men haggling over catalogued "Dutch" and "English" furniture with inflated provenance. The joke targets both credulous wealthy buyers and dishonest dealers who profit by attaching false historical significance and "authenticity" to mundane or damaged objects. It's social satire about class pretension and the antiques market's deception.