Judge — January 7, 1893 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page mocks the British Prince of Wales's visit to a World's Fair (likely the 1893 Chicago exposition). The cartoons depict exaggerated scenarios showing how Americans obsessively compete for the prince's discarded items and attention. Panel 2 shows crowds scrambling for a cigarette butt he tosses on Fifth Avenue. Panel 4 satirizes advertising firms capitalizing on his presence, imagining how they'd exploit his image commercially. The overall point: American materialism and celebrity worship are so extreme that even royal garbage becomes a commodity. The cartoons ridicule both the prince-chasing American public and corporate opportunism, suggesting that national dignity is sacrificed for profit and social climbing.