Life, 1913-07-17 · page 25 of 44
Life — July 17, 1913 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon - "Girl in Boat":** A young woman comments on an older couple (Mr. and Mrs. White), noting the age gap with mild shock. The joke satirizes May-December marriages: she's twenty, he's forty, and the math humorously illustrates the widening age disparity—when she reaches fifty, he'll be one hundred. This mocks both the marriages themselves and society's acceptance of them. **"Attention, Visitors!" Article:** Heavy sarcasm. Life sarcastically praises Madison Square Park's new gas-pipe fencing as a major tourist attraction and "triumph of modern landscape gardening." The real point: the fences are ugly, utilitarian eyesores designed merely to restrict public access and prevent children from enjoying the lawn. The ornate language masks bitter criticism of the park's deterioration and exclusionary policies. **"Father and Bobbie" Comic:** A brief joke about a child forced to attend Sunday School finding it so unpleasant it ruined his entire day—poking fun at mandatory religious observance and its joyless effect on children.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Girl in Boat: TurRe’s MR. AN’ MRS. WHITE. “Gracious! TWICE HER AGE! JUST THINK, WHEN SHE'S FIFTY HE'LL BE A HUNDRED.” Attention, Visitors! LL those who contemplate visiting New York during this gala summer season should be sure not to miss seeing our latest improvement; namely, the fences in and about Madison Square Park. These are no ordinary fences. On the contrary, they constitute the largest and most exclusive collection of gas pipe known to captivity. Looked at from any side, angle or altitude, they present a bewildering, pulchritudinous maze to the admiring eye. But they are dedicated not to beauty alone; they are dedicated to utility as well. They prevent the careless or leisurely peregrinator and the irresponsible child from swerving a hair’s breadth from the curved and narrow paths of heated cement and lingering on the alluring lawn. No visit to New York is complete without a view of this triumph of modern landscape gardening. Be sure that it is included in your itineraries. ‘ATHER (sternly): Bobbie, did you go to Sunday School this morning, as I told you to? Bosse: Yes, father, I did—but it spoiled the whole day AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION for me. comicbooks.com