Judge, 1897-12-18 · page 32 of 53
Judge — December 18, 1897 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a Christmas-themed page from Judge magazine featuring multiple short humorous items typical of late 19th-century American satire. **Main Content:** The page opens with "A Klondike Christmas Fancy," a sentimental poem about winter isolation during the Klondike Gold Rush era, questioning how Santa will deliver toys in such harsh conditions. **The Cartoons & Jokes:** - **Jack-in-the-Box/Santa**: A jack-in-the-box confronts Santa about being designed to frighten children while Santa himself appears afraid—social commentary on hypocrisy. - **"Analogous Name"**: A pun comparing "air-ship" (early aviation) to "sky-cycle" and suggesting ice-wagons become "icycles"—wordplay typical of the era. - Various brief satirical quips mock political dishonesty ("Fabrication"), wealth obsession, theatrical desperation, and frontier rough behavior. The humor relies on period-specific references (airships, Klondike gold rush) and genteel Victorian wit. The overall tone targets social pretension and human folly—standard Judge magazine fare for readers of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A KLONDIKE CHRISTMAS FANCY. (Mabel og.) THE river's freezing fast, ‘The snow begins to fly. ‘The summer-time is past At last, And winter fills the sky. I watch along the drift, And o'er the silver hill, ‘The raven circle swift And lift His note so sharp and shrill. Imprisoned by the snow, Shut in from all the world, I hear the tempest blow And know Old winter's flag ’s unfurled. Yet Santa ‘ll push his prow Across the icy swell, And bring the toy bow-wow, But how, Is more than I can tell. BA MUMKTTFRICK. JACK-IN-THE-BOX (to Santa Claus)—"* You fixed me up to scare the children, but you seem to be afraid to look me in the face yourself.”* AN ANALOGOUS NAME, Trivvet—" Some persons call an air-ship a sky-cycle.”” Dicer—" Well?" Trévvet— If that is a correct term, why shouldn't an ice-wagon be called an icycle 2” Christmas Judge. THE HEIGHT OF AFFLUENCE, Erne1—'* Is your uncle so rich be has money to burn ?” Mavo—" Oh, he is far wealthier than that—he has got so much money that be freezes to it.” JUST HIS KIND. Weary Wig ins— Seeing that I'm always on the road I thought it. would be a good idea for me to get a play to travel in, and | want you to write it.”” Playwright—* What kind of a play do you want?” Weary Wiggins—Oh, any old kind that's got a meal in every act.” FABRICATION—A synonym for lie.” Found very convenient by political orators in parts of the country in which personalities bring their own re- ward. ONLY NATURAL. DorotHy (céosely ging a kornet that has come in through the open w indow)— “There! I should think any fly’d know better'n to lace sotight’s that.” BASE INGRATITUDE. ALKALL Ike (disconsolately )— “Yep, [sent me dear little niece in Boston some Christmas presents, ’ she never even acknowledged ‘em. Bronco Pete—** Dat so? W'ot did yer send her?” ALKALI Ike—"' A live tarantula an’ a piece lynched wi v de rope Injun Dan wuz ComMmaMy 1097 BY THE JUDGE PUBLISNING COMPANY OF KEW YORK, comicbooks.com