Life, 1914-04-30 · page 15 of 44
Life — April 30, 1914 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical cartoon commemorating the centennial of Napoleon's 1814 abdication. The image depicts Napoleon resignedly writing his abdication letter to the Allied Powers, while a messenger boy impatiently waits. The satire lies in the mock-formal letter itself. Life presents Napoleon's resignation in colloquial, sardonic 1910s American language rather than formal diplomatic prose. He complains the job has become "irksome," welcomes whoever thinks they can do better, and dismissively refers to France's treasury as "not bursting with revenues." The humor targets both Napoleon's deflated pride and the absurdity of framing a monumental historical event in casually modern terms. The patient-but-exasperated messenger boy watching this elaborate resignation adds comic visual irony—he just wants the letter finished. This reflects Life magazine's typical approach: using historical moments as vehicles for contemporary wit and deflating pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ms hitherto unpublished picture shows an important incident in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, and depicts him writing his resignation as Emperor of France. The notable oc- currence took place one hundred years and a couple of weeks ago, April 11th, 1814, and, as Napoleon was then an important figure in the news, the event at the time caused considerable com- ment. The note, which is given below, was terse and pointed, but it can be gathered by a casual examination of the expression of crumbling patience on the countenance of the district mes- senger boy who is awaiting its com- THE ABDICATION OF NAPOLEON I Important Centenaries pletion that it was not penned in heed- less precipitation. “ Representatives, Autiep Powers, “17 Rue de Rivoli Street, “Tuileries Building, Room 314. “Gentlemen (and you, too, Welling- ton): “In reply to your request that I, for the sake of peace in Europe, place the affairs of France in the hands of re- ceivers and appear in supplementary proceedings to show cause why I should remain at large, I hasten to state that the duties of my exalted office have become particularly irksome, and, as there seems to be a ‘smart Aleck’ amongst you who thinks he can handle the situation better than can I, he is welcome to the job and all per- quisites attached to it. “By your messenger I am sending the crown and other insignia of the office I so willingly resign, and may they worry the flesh of the next ass who imagines them to be cither warm or becoming. I also forward the keys to the treasury—which, I am sorry to state, is not bursting with revenues— and my sword, which will, perhaps, make a pretty decoration over the what- not in somebody's artistic parlor when this peace business has been perma- comicbooks.com