Judge, 1897-12-04 · page 8 of 16

Judge — December 4, 1897 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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Judge — December 4, 1897 — page 8: Judge, 1897-12-04

What you’re looking at

This 1897 Judge cartoon satirizes **Tammany Hall**, the notoriously corrupt Democratic political machine that dominated New York City politics. The image depicts the iconic dome of City Hall (center) under siege by rats and demon-like figures representing corrupt politicians and their schemes. The rats emerging from a "Police Dept." label suggest police corruption tied to Tammany's influence. The elaborate architectural chaos symbolizes how Tammany's corruption infested New York's civic institutions. The title "A Pest of Tammany" plays on both the literal rats (pests) and the metaphorical infestation of graft, bribery, and machine politics that plagued the city. Judge magazine regularly mocked Tammany's control over New York government during this Gilded Age period.

📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

— SA wer = Wamscve ns — oY OF MEW YORE, JUDGE PUBLISHING Comeas COPYmONT 1897, 0" THE hsse-f A PEST OF TA hua In Greater New comicbooks.com