Judge, 1888-01-14 · page 16 of 16
Judge — January 14, 1888 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This two-panel cartoon contrasts Irish immigrant experiences across eighteen years. The top panel ("Coming Out, 1870") shows an impoverished Irish family arriving in America, grateful for basic shelter and paid passage to New York. The bottom panel ("Going Over, 1888") depicts the same family (now established) making demands—Mrs. McGaoan insists on a private cabin aboard a ship line before traveling, treating luxury as an entitlement. The satire mocks Irish immigrants' rapid social ascension and newly acquired pretentiousness. The thick dialect and character names emphasize their Irish identity. Judge's point appears critical: the family's transformation from desperate arrivals to snobbish travelers suggests either comedic ingratitude or—less charitably—satirizes what the magazine may have viewed as undeserved social climbing by Irish Americans.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
COMING OUT, 1870. GOING OVER, 1888. MoGacax—" Pfwhat 'd bo betther nor this, darlin’? Troth, we has a roof Mns, McGaoan—“ Divil the fut o’ me goes on tho ship till yez buys the that do not lake, an’ the rint paid till we raches New Yar-rk.” hrivate sallyon av the Admiral av the Kynar rd line, an’ doan’ yez forgit it, John!” comicbooks.com