Life — February 29, 1912 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Roughing It on Broadway" This February 1912 Life Magazine cartoon satirizes theatrical dining on Broadway. Two figures sit at a restaurant table with a library stamp visible on the tablecloth—suggesting they're using borrowed or makeshift materials. The woman on the left appears gaunt and refined, while the man on the right gestures dismissively at a modest meal and water glass. The joke targets Broadway performers or theatrical folk who affect sophistication and refinement despite financial hardship. "Roughing it" (living simply) ironically describes their situation while dining out, implying they're pretending to elegance they cannot afford. The library stamp adds humor, suggesting even their table linens are borrowed or improvised—a commentary on theatrical world's financial precarity hidden beneath affected airs.