Judge — November 22, 1890 — page 17: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is the cover of *Judge* magazine's Thanksgiving issue, priced at 10 cents. The artwork depicts a procession of turkeys marching toward their fate, led by one large turkey carrying a cross—a darkly humorous visual pun on the holiday's traditional centerpiece. The satire works on multiple levels: turkeys "giving thanks" before being slaughtered for the holiday meal, the religious imagery suggesting martyrdom, and the procession of doomed birds suggesting inevitability. The illustration is signed and uses period engraving techniques typical of early 20th-century satirical magazines. The joke relies on anthropomorphizing the turkeys to highlight the grim irony of Thanksgiving—a holiday of gratitude that involves killing the bird that symbolizes the occasion.