Judge, 1892-01-23 · page 18 of 18
Judge — January 23, 1892 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes Boston's Puritan cultural reputation and prudishness. The image shows Boston (personified as a stern figure) rejecting *Judge* magazine from its public library reading room, claiming the satirical publication is too frivolous and morally corrupting. The satire targets Boston's self-righteous gatekeeping of morality—the fear that exposure to humor and satire might corrupt young people or those deemed socially inferior ("children from the country" or "Irish parentage"). The accompanying text mocks this anxiety as hypocritical, suggesting Boston's concern about "decorum" reveals discomfort with acknowledging that prominent men have human weaknesses. Judge's point: Boston's cultural elite uses moral superiority to suppress popular entertainment while simultaneously engaging in the very human flaws they claim to forbid others from knowing about.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
KICKED OUT. Boston (to Juncr)—“ Go away, you naughty thing! Would you make us laugh and be merry? Shades of my Puritan fathers forbid!” re . _ . ia have weaknesses that make ce ‘The manarers ofthe Boston able erary bare gzcloded Juno trom its Iadine-coom, , Perbape te Boston it ight wrong tc allow the young to know that great and good men, such as achieve fame in politics and fortune in business, have text of the comic papers that they cannot preserve proper decorum in the reading-room. This, of course, would not happen in the case of any young Person of Boston, but it may have happened that some child from the country or one of Irish parentage has laughed aloud while reading Juocx in that solemn apartment. —W. ¥. Times, Jan. Xh. comicbooks.com