Life, 1927-09-01 · page 16 of 40
Life — September 1, 1927 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This illustration satirizes the 1890s as a period of strict social constraints, particularly for wealthy families. The cartoon shows adults on a porch entertaining themselves quietly while children and a dog stand outside on the street—visually depicting how rigidly controlled upper-class life was. The caption explains that Sunday afternoons were especially tedious, with activities restricted except for reading G.A. Henty's novels or *Leslie's Weekly* Civil War volumes. The satire mocks how ingeniously people managed "to sneak a little excitement" by observing passing horses, carriages, and "a white horse and a red-haired woman"—suggesting even minor social novelties provided rare entertainment in this buttoned-up era. The piece critiques the repressive gentility of the 1890s American leisure class.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties THE LONG, OF ROSY RETROSPECT WILL EVER BE ABLE ROY TO WHOM A DREARY BLUE-LAW SUNDAY APTERNOONS WERE TO RECALL AS . ACTIVITIES WERE TABOO EXCEPT G, A. HE f Weekly ov THe CIVIL WAR, RUT RY KEEPING VERY QUIET THE 1 RIODS OF THE NINETIES WHICH NO AMOUNT JAY,” ESPECIALLY TO A NORMAL, HEALTHY AND THE BoUND votuMEs oF Leslie's NIOUS MANAGED TO SNEAK A LITTLE EXCITEMENT INTO THE INTERIM BY SCORING THE WIUTE HORSES AGAINST THE DARK HORSES THAT PASSED THE HOUSE AND THE SIMULTANEOUS APPEARANCE OF A WHITE HORSE AND A RED-HAIRED WOMAN WAS AN OMEN OF RICH PORTENT, PROVIDED IT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE CORRECT GESTURE. Nes Peps Diary August Shaken out of slumber at the ungodly hour of 6th e2 by Samuel, who said 1 must be up and doing if we were to drive to the Revolutionary vageant at Rome, nor could I reproach him, neither, for as his hand touched my shoulder, | was endeavoring to stuff what diamond jewelry I had on me into the uphol- stery of a divan against the demands of some bandits who had interrupted a dinner party, and the fact that one of the invaders was Mistress Scott, with whom I once read the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf at Smith College, and dead these many years, poor lady, was helping my perilous situation no whit. So up and did on my best sports silk, albeit I did know I should sit out the plaits, and off across the beautiful country towards Utica, beyond which the Battle of Oriskany was to be reénacted, but when we did reach Rome, the crowd and stream of motor cars were so great that we did lose heart at trying to effect a regular entrance, and did de- cide that we had come only for the ride, and all would have been well had not Sam, (Please turn to page 33) comicbooks.com }