Life, 1926-10-07 · page 17 of 44
Life — October 7, 1926 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* (1895-1897) contains several satirical vignettes about urban American life and social customs: **"An Anxious Time"** depicts a deathbed scene where an elderly woman insists a young girl must survive—presumably addressing class anxieties about mortality and inheritance. **"Almost a Death Struggle"** shows a crowd preventing a fashionably-dressed couple from separating, satirizing public behavior and social propriety. **"A Puzzle Story"** jokes about street-corner political debates, a common sight in urban centers. **Other sketches** mock social conventions: the Philadelphia coffee habit, formal dress requirements, and courtship rituals. The bottom photograph, captioned "How much does his lordship get for marrying her?" satirizes transatlantic marriages where American heiresses wed titled European men for social prestige—a genuine phenomenon of the Gilded Age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
An Anxious Time *Ou, Grandma, Grandma!” ned the fair young girl, knee ing beside the bed. “You must rot die. You will not die?” The aged woman bestowed a fond look upon the agonized girl. “My dear, Iam glad to go,” she murmured, with faltering ac cents. Oh, Grandma, Grandn cried the girl, in a voice stifled hy her sobs. “*My darling, yous must -not weep. you must not grieve,” fal- tered the dying woman, “I am old, so old and weary that T long r rest, What matters a few di the desperate girl. “You live—at least until after the Plevsantons’ party to-morrow night.” 1896. Iv’s a wise actress that knows her own husband, 1899. Almost a Death Struggle © crowd had gradually formed around the two fashion- ably dressed and oblivious young nd at one time it seemed ne to separate them. can it mean?” said the stranger, who had just come to the scene, “It took me,” said the man addressed, “some time to learn, but as I understand it now, one girl has been six months in Europe, and while she was gone the other learned to play golf, and they are trying to tell each other about it.” °99. Vous He: v1 A man is a hero to his imagina- tion. 1893. PRESENT —CON- Every N OF THE DRAMA : IN NEW YORK 1895, In Philadelphia ‘I've had to stop drinking coffee for lreakfast “Wh “I found it kept me awake all day 1896. “Poon little Reg- gie! Drunk and carried to the sta- tion-house.” “Yes, but what wounds his pride. is that they made the police-matron put him to bed.” 1893. ‘Ture are only two classes of peo- ple — those who dress for breakfast and those who dress for dinner. 41899. PEAWING ITS BREATH IN SHORT PANTS 1897. She: 1 piwx’r THINK You’D DARE TO KISS ME! ER ABOUT IT, 80 I—1 ERE WAS A GOOD DEAL OF DA THOUGHT WE'D BETTER FACE IT TOGETHER! MISS PROPERLEIGH, GIVE ME YOUR MAND. Drowning Maiden (preparing to sink for the third time): OW, MR. MANLEY; THIS 1S SO SUDDEN! SO UNEXPECTED! YoU WILL HAVE TO ASK MAMMA. 1892. 15 Manhattan Maxnarran looks delightfully Between three Rivers and the Sea, With Buildings reaching to the Sky And Elevateds smoking by, And people making Money, or Scrubbing Another’s Parlor Floor. » 1898. A Puzzle Story Paraicx O'S: WNessey and Michael Grogan were discussing politics on the northeast corner of the street crossing, and Wil- helm Schwartz- meister and Au- gust Gucken- heimer were dis- cussing the same subject on the southwest corner. On one of these corners a fight ensued. On which corner was it? 1899. HotLeR” 1891. Serious are they away in “Wat O'Hooliha: lance for “Fer batin’ his woife.” taking an ambu- 1890. DESERVED, REPLIED, “INDEED, 1 DO NOT DOUBT IT; BUT WHAT ARE YoU Gorxe To pO ApouT 17?" “HOW MUCH DOFS HIS LORDSHIP GET FOR MARRYING “a COOL MILLION.” “WORTH EVERY CENT oF IT.” comicbooks.com