Judge, 1897-11-06 · page 16 of 16
Judge — November 6, 1897 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical illustrated essay mocking the supposed pleasures of ownership in early 20th-century American life. Each vignette presents an ironic "joy" that is actually a burden or annoyance: - **Owning a cornet or gun**: wives lend them to relatives, making them unavailable - **Owning stocks**: they lose value immediately - **Owning a worthless dog**: the tax collector assesses property taxes on it - **Being owned by a wife**: she "assists" a tired husband home from his club - **Theater seats**: blocked by ladies' large hats - **Dogs**: fail to recognize their owners upon return from abroad The humor relies on inverting expectations—presenting genuine frustrations as mock "joys." The dialogue between Mr. Dark and Mr. Lict about marriage being preferable to a job adds class commentary. Overall, the page satirizes modern consumer culture and domestic life's petty annoyances for educated, middle-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“The joys of owning a comet are much greater than the pleasure of owning a pair of sensitive eardrums yen en ae ; rile joys of owning a worthless (oan adjotoing:apartaent. girl-dog, that the tax-collector calls around and assesses you $6.96 an- niually for. What are the joys of own- ing a gun or fish-rod when your wife loans it to some of her relatives every day you want to use it? The joys of discovering that. the stock you own , gone down nine points the first WP twenty-four hours that it's been in your possession. “Mk. Ds own a wife now. Mr. Lict—"' Da’s right, da’s right, Mose; and it's whad yo’ oughter do.” Mr. Dark —'tWhad’s de use ob me gittin’ married? I gota job.” * Hullo, Sam! I dun heered dat yo’ The joy of being owned by a wife who assists you into the house nights when you come ‘The old reliable joy-of owning a seat at The pleasure of owning a dog that doesn't home from the club tired. the theatre behind a big hat. recognize you when you return from Europe, COmMGNY 1007, 87 THE JUCGE PLELSNING COMPUAY OF ntW YORK because vou have acquired whiskers since he last saw you, Sackett Wihelms Lite 8 Pig Co Rew York THE JOYS OF OWNERSHIP. comicbooks.dom |