Judge — May 27, 1893 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes Chicago's upcoming World's Fair (likely the 1893 Columbian Exposition). The top panel shows a procession of fashionably dressed women heading toward Chicago, mocking the expected influx of visitors. The central large cartoon depicts a portly, well-fed man in a chair with an enormous belly, caricaturing Chicago's corrupt wealth and excess. The surrounding smaller panels reference: - **Wheelmen meetings**: Bicycle clubs, a popular leisure activity of the era - **Police concerns**: A policeman's worried expression suggests fears about crime during the fair - **"Genuine old Chicago dressed meat"**: A cynical jab at Chicago's famous meatpacking industry, implying visitors will encounter the city's industrial underbelly despite the fair's glamorous facade The satire mocks the contrast between Chicago's aspirations to present itself as a cultured host city versus its actual identity as a rough, commercial center defined by industry and corruption.