Life, 1913-01-09 · page 59 of 100
Life — January 9, 1913 — page 59: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains "The Autojabberwock," a satirical poem that parodies Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" by substituting automotive jargon for nonsense words. The humor targets the early automobile era's mechanical complexity and the frustration of car owners unfamiliar with engines. The poem mocks drivers who attempt repairs without understanding mechanics—spinning hubs, checking spark plugs, and troubleshooting carburetors in absurd sequences. Phrases like "Oh empty tank—oh axle rank!" directly echo Carroll's style while substituting car parts for fantastical creatures. The accompanying illustration "An Aristocrat" (right) shows a well-dressed gentleman with a crank, likely depicting the stereotypical upper-class motorist fumbling incompetently with his vehicle's manual starter. The skyline illustration at top depicts a modern American city (likely New York), with an airplane overhead—emphasizing the contemporary industrial age that occasioned such mechanical bewilderment among society's leisure class.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
it is only necessary to realize that where formerly Mrs. Austin was en- gaged in the esthete’s task of inte preting nature in terms of her own emotions, she is here struggling with the more rugged because more crea- tive job of translating the sanctions and sources of her own emotions into the terms of objectified livin; J. B. Kerfoot. The Autojabberwock \WAS missing and the make and break Did carburetor on the spring— All chassis was the oil intake, And gas tank was the piston ring. Beware the heavy one-ton jack, Beware the pressure in the oil— Don't prime her in the parcel rack Nor fender underneath the coil. TAINTED He spun the hub, unscrewed the cap, Long time the longed-for noise he sought, Then finished he his nineteenth lap And stood awhile in thought And as in spark-plug thought he stood A shock-absorber to him came; His grease-cups and enameled hood Did back-fire quick against his frame. One, two, one, two—and thro’ and thro? His running gear and clincher tire, He punctured on and jammed the goo Until his low-speed clutch caught fire. “And hast thou cranked this thing on high? Turn on the juice, my beamish boy— Oh empty tank—oh axle rank!"— He tonneau'd in his joy. 'Twas missing and the make and i Did carburetor on the spring— All chassis was the oil intake, And rumble was the piston ring AN ARISTOC RAT comicbooks.com