Life, 1923-07-05 · page 13 of 40
Life — July 5, 1923 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon depicts a giraffe surrounded by smaller animals (an elephant and what appear to be monkeys or apes) in a zoo or similar setting. The caption reads: "Oh, Eddie elephant just told her she looked like a map of the thousand islands." The joke targets Gertie Giraffe's distinctive spotted pattern, comparing it to the geographical features of the Thousand Islands region. This appears to be gentle mockery of an animal's appearance rather than political satire. The cartoon likely references a popular animal character of the era, suggesting Gertie was recognizable to contemporary readers. The humor relies on visual comparison and the absurdity of animals gossiping about each other's looks.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Garden Scandal NCE stretched along the garden sward In June, at early eve, I caught two lilies gossiping— Their tale you'll scarce believe: “I knew last year that Columbine Would surely come to grief, When Go-Between, the bumble bee, Was sneaking like a thief, “With warm love notes from Pier- rot . Across the neighbor’s fence. What happened in the springtime dusk \Ve know from inference; “For he was an albino white And she a gay wine-red! You saw that clustering brood of hers, On each a bright blonde head—” Above I heard a tittering; the catalpa tree There sat a blue-jay bent in mirth \Who slyly winked at me. John S. Phillips. Advice to Visitors from Out of Town O not mistake the Grand Central Station for the Hotel Commo- , or the Capitol Theatre for the Public Library. There are just as many “gold brick” men in town as ever, only they are now engaged in the bootlegging industry, It is not comme il faut to tip the house detective. Do not think that the Subway at 8:30 a. M. is the most crowded place in the world. It is worse at 5:30 p. a. New York affords the visitor ample opportunity for exercise. Per- haps the simplest device is to stop at one of the large hotels. You will be quite out of breath by the time you urive at your room, The great number of excavations in the streets are of no historical inter- est. Nor are they a result of the re- cent Luxor discoveries. Be careful of your hip flasks. There may be Prohibition almost any day. Do not be surprised if the tickets that cost you eight dollars apiece “WHATS THE MATTER WITH GERTIE GIRAFFE?” “OH, EDDIE ELEPHANT JUST TOLD HER SHE LOOKED LIKE A MAP OF THE THOU- SAND ISLANDS.” from the speculators are in the seventeenth row instead of the first. You are lucky to get any. You will probably find the Fifth Avenue traffic almost as congested on week-days as is the Long Island and New Jersey traffic on Sundays. All Good wPHERS are ten reasons why I will not marry you.” “And they are?” “Well, the first is: You haven't any money, and the other nine are things I want.” comicbooks.com