Judge — September 10, 1887 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cover from September 10, 1887 depicts a man using patent medicines—visible bottles labeled "Sun Cholera Cure" and "Eadyh Relief"—apparently to treat illness or cholera. The title "A Sickener for Dave" suggests this is satirizing a specific person named Dave, likely a public figure of 1887. The cartoon appears to mock ineffective or fraudulent patent medicines, which were common targets of satire during this era. The absurd remedies and their grandiose claims ("Cure," "Relief") were often worthless. The satirical point likely critiques both the quack medicines themselves and the gullibility of people who trusted them for serious diseases like cholera. Without additional context, the specific identity of "Dave" remains unclear.