Judge — January 20, 1883 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Self-Appointed Critics: The True Guardians of Public Morals" This 1888 *Judge* cartoon satirizes theatrical censors operating outside official authority. Four men in dark coats stand at the Mayor's Office door, wielding a club labeled "PRUDENCE" as a weapon. Signs reference "Theatrical License Granted" through various theatrical companies (Talmage, Crosby, Comstock & Co.). Papers on the ground appear to be rejected works or petitions. The satire targets self-appointed moral guardians—likely including Anthony Comstock, the famous anti-obscenity crusader—who pressured city officials to suppress theatrical productions they deemed immoral. The cartoon criticizes their extrajudicial power: these private citizens, lacking official standing, effectively controlled what New Yorkers could see on stage by threatening productions and terrorizing producers, positioning themselves as society's moral police.