Life, 1927-05-19 · page 16 of 42
Life — May 19, 1927 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical cartoons with historical settings: **Top cartoon** depicts Hudson leaving Manhattan Island in 1609, with the caption being Hudson's sardonic comment that he wouldn't live there despite its merits—a joke about early colonial New York's undesirability. **Bottom cartoon** shows Lady Castlemaine (mistress of Charles II) and Sweet Nell Gwyn discussing cosmetic surgery ("face lifting"). Lady Castlemaine boasts about her procedure while Nell sarcastically suggests she took the restoration idea "too far"—mocking both vanity and the absurdity of aristocratic beauty obsessions. Both cartoons use historical figures as vessels for commentary on contemporary (1920s-era) American social pretensions and vanity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
tent At some pains this morn- ing to maintain towards April 26th superinduced last night by his taking seriously my setting, in an intelli- gence test, a mark before “leave it there” as the most preferable of three alternatives of procedure after a load of coal has been stuck in the mud, in especial as I had need of some money to for some new linen and was wishful of his con- sent to go to Atlantic my husband the coolness Hudson (leaving RIGHT FOR A VISIT, BUT 1 WOULDN'T LI Nes PLeoys Diary City with Marge Boothby, and the wretch did ts advantage of his suspicion that I craved some boon or other, for he whisked off before I could descend with grace from my assumed dignity. Whereupon I did take his photograph out of its hand- some frame and substitute one of my father, order shad roe for Manhattan Island): w —1T's ALL HERE IP you GAVE ME THE PLACE. dinner in order to heap coals of fire on his head, and then out to luncheoa at an inn with Milly Tompkins, and she did tell me how her small neph- ew, upon learning the me “Women and children firs' of the sea, had quoth, “I’m do all my relling whilst I am a child.”” She did also tell me that some ve residents of her country- side are getting up a performance of “The Torchbearers,” which in itself is a satire (Please turn to page 32) Lady Castlemaine (to Charles IT): THAT NELL GWYNN CAT IS TELLING EVERYBODY THAT I'VE HAD MY FACE LIFTED. Sweet Nell: Nov aT ALL, YOUR MAJESTY. 1 MERELY SAID SHE WAS CARRYING THIS RESTORATION IDEA TOO FAR, comicbooks.com