Life — October 17, 1912 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a humorous satirical cartoon from Life magazine presenting a mock "sport" that plays on two concepts: the marketing of camel's-hair clothing (a luxury fabric popular in the late 19th/early 20th century) and the exotic Caucasus region. The illustration shows people hunting actual camels in a mountainous landscape, literally pursuing the animals as if engaged in sport—a visual pun on acquiring "camel's-hair" products. The absurdist humor comes from treating commercial textile sourcing as an international sporting activity, poking fun at both the luxury goods market and orientalist fascination with exotic locales. The "undershirts" reference suggests these expensive garments were marketed to American consumers as desirable status symbols.