Life, 1913-03-06 · page 54 of 72
Life — March 6, 1913 — page 54: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes **advertisements with a single cartoon joke** at the bottom. The cartoon depicts two men in conversation. One accuses the other of hating work; the accused replies by blaming his laziness on heredity—his mother was a circus performer (the "fat lady"), and his father was a "city employee" (implying laziness or inefficiency in government work). The joke satirizes **both hereditary determinism and stereotypes about municipal workers**. In the early 20th century, city employees were often portrayed as unmotivated bureaucrats, while circus performers represented moral or social degradation. The humor relies on the character's absurd logic: he's essentially saying his genetic inheritance from these "disreputable" professions dooms him to idleness—a exaggerated excuse-making that mocks both fatalism and anti-government sentiment common in that era. The rest of the page contains period advertisements for Peter's Milk Chocolate, Life magazine's binding service, and Maillard's Easter goods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This is one of the times when Peter's is popular You often feel that between-meal hunger, that longing for something really delicate and delicious. just the desire that Peter's Milk Choco- late satisfies. The indescribable blend of finest chocolate, richest milk and purest sugar makes it the very thing you want. Peter’s Milk Chocolate The best binder for life is a wedding ring. The next best ts the one you sce here, the price of which is One Dollar Why not . preserve your 1 fi é 2 Address I IFE, 17 West 31 Street, New York Easter Gifts and Decorations Artistically beautiful. Imported exclusively for our Easter season's trade—direct from the Art Centres of Europ —now displayed. for your inspection and selection. Embroidered Silk Eggs Handpainted Porcelain Egg Cups Handpainted Satin E; Silk and Satin boxes, painted Dresden China Eggs. ‘and embroidered. Baskets trimmed with sea- Novelties in Porcelain, Saxe, sonable flowers. Sevre, Daum, ete. MAILLARD’S EASTER CAKES, CHOCOLATES, BONBONS Afternoon tea in the Luncheon Restaurant, three to six. Thirty Fifth St. ana Tafth Avenue New York. wesillzaa~ * Se “THE TROUBLE WITH YOU IS THAT YOU HATE WORK.” “VM THE VICTIM OF HEREDITY, MISTER. ME MOTHER WUZ THE FAT LADY IN A CIRCUS, AN’ ME FATHER WUZ A CITY EMPLOYEE.” comicbooks.com