Judge — June 20, 1891 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes American "Anglomaniacs"—wealthy Americans who excessively admire and imitate British culture and aristocracy. The central tower depicts what American elites "worship," stacked with symbols of British royalty and gambling (dice, playing cards labeled "gambling," references to the Prince of Wales). Below, well-dressed Americans genuflect before this tower of Britishness. The right side shows figures at what appears to be a fancy establishment, mocking the pretentiousness of such devotion. The satire criticizes American social climbers who elevate British royalty and aristocratic culture above American values—suggesting this obsession with British society and its vices (particularly gambling, associated with the dissolute Prince of Wales) represents misplaced national priorities and snobbish behavior among the wealthy.