Judge, 1883-02-10 · page 6 of 16
Judge — February 10, 1883 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes wealthy industrialist **Cornelius Vanderbilt** (referenced by the title "The House That Vander Built," parodying the nursery rhyme). The cartoon depicts various figures—appearing to be lawyers, judges, and politicians—clustered outside an ornate building, suggesting they are parasites feeding on Vanderbilt's wealth and legal disputes. The accompanying stories ("Should Have Sworn In It" and related anecdotes) appear to mock the absurdities of American legal proceedings and social pretension among the wealthy. The dialogue includes crude ethnic stereotyping typical of 1880s-90s Judge magazine. **Key satire:** The cartoon suggests that great fortunes attract hordes of hangers-on and legal entanglements. The "house" built by Vanderbilt becomes a monument to litigation and social chaos rather than achievement. The page reflects late-19th-century American anxieties about monopoly power and corruption surrounding gilded-age industrial fortunes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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