Judge, 1897-01-30 · page 16 of 16
Judge — January 30, 1897 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1897 satirical page uses winter ice-skating as its theme to mock various social issues and absurdities of the era. **Main subjects:** - **"Burcnee" (likely a ice-dealer or vendor)**: The opening dialogue jokes about his refusal to accept skates found in ice, suggesting he'd then be responsible for returning lost property—a commentary on business evasion of responsibility. - **Ice safety and skating hazards**: Multiple cartoons satirize both the dangers of ice-skating (drowning, falls) and proposed "improvements" like special skate designs and safety rules—poking fun at over-engineering solutions to simple problems. - **"Cohen" and whisker-floating**: An ethnic stereotype joke about a Jewish man whose beard kept him afloat when falling through ice—typical of the era's casual prejudiced humor. - **"Old Crusty, the ice-magnate"**: Mocks a wealthy ice merchant preventing boys from melting his ice by playing with fire, valuing profit over children's welfare—satirizing unchecked commercialism and greed. The overall point: winter ice commerce breeds absurd human behavior and moral compromises.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Burcnee—" | won't accept that ice, Riley : there's a skate in it, You'd be bringin’ me the boy that lost it next, If I didn’t draw the line somewhere, fyoce's which will do away with pain- fal falls and allow learners to attempt fancy touches while skating, and insure safety against drowning casualties. A skate with a good “edge” on. COPHRGHT 1897 BY THE 2UOGE PUBLISKING COMPANY OF MEW YORK. Keep the head cool and the feet warm. ICE. It was lucky for Cohen, when he broke through the ce and sank ia the water over head and hands, that his whiskers floated. “ Get on to old Crusty, the ice-magnate, chasing the boys from that fre." “* Ves, he don't want them to burn his money ; this ice'll be worth a dollar a pound next summer.” ‘Sackett a Withelms Litho Co New York