Judge — November 26, 1881 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes Americans' attempt to imitate English fox hunting traditions. The page shows three sequential scenes labeled "The Meet," "The Find," and "The Finish," depicting an increasingly chaotic American version of the refined English sport. The satire progresses from organized hunters gathering, to them chasing what appears to be a butcher's carcass (labeled "BUTCHER"), to complete pandemonium with dogs, riders, and spectators in disarray. The joke mocks American social pretension—wealthy Americans awkwardly copying English aristocratic customs—while suggesting Americans lack the discipline or decorum for such refined pursuits. The exaggerated chaos and crude substitution (using butcher meat instead of actual foxes) emphasizes the fundamental incompatibility between American culture and English upper-class traditions.