Judge — March 27, 1886 — page 1: what you’re looking at

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# "Aldermanic Poker" - Judge Magazine, March 27, 1886 This political cartoon satirizes New York City aldermen as corrupt gamblers. Three figures with exaggerated facial features (likely representing specific aldermen, though not individually labeled) are shown playing poker with oversized hands reaching upward, symbolizing their grasping corruption. The subtitle states they're "showing their hands—three of a kind beats the public," a poker pun suggesting these aldermen are colluding together ("three of a kind") against ordinary citizens. The playing cards and money scattered around reinforce the gambling metaphor for political corruption. The urban setting (with city hall visible) emphasizes this is about New York municipal government. Judge uses the card game as a familiar vice to mock aldermanic dishonesty and collusion during the Gilded Age.