Judge, 1894-08-04 · page 16 of 16
Judge — August 4, 1894 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes the effectiveness of newspaper advertising for attracting boarders (rental tenants). The top panel shows a landlord placing an ad in New York papers, confidently predicting results. The bottom panel reveals the "successful" outcome: the landlord is overwhelmed by a chaotic flood of prospective boarders crowding around the building, each wearing signs identifying their professions or backgrounds. The satire mocks both the landlord's naive optimism and the desperation of working-class New Yorkers seeking housing. The joke's humor derives from the ironic contrast between the hoped-for "success" and the overwhelming, unmanageable reality—suggesting that even modest advertisements could attract throngs of desperate renters in urban America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
E ° Q an Pe 4 [o} fo} Q ic E fo} [S) Fasurn Havexep—“* we ain't, had no boarders yet, but I guess this advertisement in the New York papers ‘Il fetch ‘em.” IT WORKED SUCCESSFULLY.