Judge, 1893-12-16 · page 16 of 16
Judge — December 16, 1893 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a "WHY?" page—a recurring Judge feature posing rhetorical questions about everyday social absurdities and fashion contradictions. The central figures are two women displaying exaggerated 1890s-era fashion silhouettes, illustrating the era's extreme sleeve proportions and corsetry. The surrounding vignettes mock various social oddities: why insignificant men sing heroic songs while important men sing sentimental ones; why college transforms masculine youths into effeminate dandies; why facial hair choices contradict appearance types; why plain women befriend plainer companions; why people follow vacant stares; police guarding back doors; and the human tendency to ignore wake-up calls. The satire targets Victorian fashion illogic (particularly women's sleeves), social pretension, and human behavioral quirks. No specific political figures appear identifiable. The humor relies on observational comedy about universal human contradictions and era-specific fashion absurdities that modern readers would find historically curious rather than immediately amusing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Cyne WOUND: ~ BUN ME eh Bow Wow" Why does the insignificant man sing heroic songs, and the big man sing ‘simpering ballads? Why. when a maply-looking young man goes to college. does he come out looking like this? Why do the short and fat women wear such big sleeves, and the tall, thin women go without sleeves? Why do policemen guard the back doors of Why do plain-faced girls select plainer companivas? she gra-mills 60 well? WHY? Why, when some one fazes Into vacancy, do wwe all follow suit? do fat-faced men wear side-whiskers. and ced men wear goat beards! Why, when we ask to be called at six o'clock, do we get up at nine? comicbooks.com