Judge, 1898-12-24 · page 11 of 30
Judge — December 24, 1898 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple standalone comic vignettes satirizing Christmas behavior and social pretense circa 1898. **"Back at Him"** depicts two well-dressed gentlemen—one offering to help the other with bundles, who then steals them. The joke relies on feigned politeness masking criminal intent. **"A Safety-Raiser"** shows playing cards (hearts) and jokes that learning Santa Claus is mythical relieves children of pressure to behave before Christmas—satirizing parental manipulation tactics. **"A Youthful Pessimist"** mocks a child's cynical disappointment with Christmas gifts, expressing pessimism about both expectations and reality—commentary on childhood disillusionment. The remaining vignettes (I-IV) appear to show petty theft or pickpocketing scenarios with similar dark humor about deception during the holiday season. **"An Unfailing Sign"** (bottom) makes an unclear reference to Christmas shopping, likely satirizing consumer materialism or social climbing through gift-giving. Overall, the page satirizes the gap between Christmas's sentimental ideals and actual human behavior—theft, manipulation, greed, and disappointment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
; : “You seem tired, sir. Allowzme to assist you with yo bundles.” ames ey A SAFETY-RAISER. A HAPPY CONCLUSION. Tod (of Beacon hill) — The settlement of the mach-discussed question, that Santa Claus is a myth, fills me with unbounded delight. Now'(I'd like to\see any one wheedle me into + being good just before Christmas.” = A YOUTHFUL. PESSIMIST. “ Well, Freddy,” said Mr. Swayback, “ did you get what-you expected on the Christmas- tree?” “No, sir,” replied Freddy, politely but gloomily. ‘‘:I didn't get what I expected and I didn’t expect I would, either.” 2 -y I. “Hey, there! you forgot something.” Ml. “« Now drop those and'move.” Iv. “* Well, it’s lucky I thought of Willie's horn.” COPYMONT 1898 BY ARKELL PUBLISHING COMPANY OF NEW YORK. AN UNFAILING SIGN. Sackett 8 Witbeins Litho & Pig Co.Rew York Paasite Goa think Coast, has bougtit your Christmas presents yet ?” comicbooks.com