Judge — March 1, 1884 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes "Leap Year" traditions, when women were socially permitted to pursue men romantically—reversing normal gender roles. The title "Different Methods of Drawing the Beau" shows multiple panels depicting various approaches women might use to attract male suitors. The "esthetic method" appears to reference the Aesthetic Movement (a late 19th-century artistic trend emphasizing beauty and style). The verse suggests that a woman's gaze alone—"a glance of the eye, be it brown or blue"—can attract and hold a man's attention. The satirical point: the magazine mocks both the Aesthetic Movement's pretensions and the unusual social inversion of Leap Year, when conventional courtship rules temporarily flip. The cartoons likely show exaggerated, humorous depictions of women employing different tactics—artistic poses, direct appeals, or other methods—to secure romantic attention during this brief period when female initiative was socially sanctioned.