Judge, 1900-05-12 · page 3 of 16
Judge — May 12, 1900 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon, "Shakespeare in Possum ville," depicts a minstrel show parody of Julius Caesar's assassination. The figures appear to use exaggerated blackface caricatures performing a dramatic theatrical scene. This reflects Judge magazine's satirical commentary on popular entertainment of the era—specifically minstrel shows and theatrical adaptations in the American South. The remaining vignettes ("Put to a New Use," "Had the Wrong Handle," "Hard to Exterminate," "Safe to Say," "It Would," "From Our Country Correspondent") are brief humorous sketches with punchlines about everyday situations—a woman's domestic role, animal behavior, regional feuds, secrets, and winter. The overall page demonstrates Judge's mix of racial caricature humor (now deeply offensive) alongside genteel domestic comedy typical of early 20th-century American satirical magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
(RESERVED Jeary Vit INGS IST CAUSE HE sah sitions. (R Fovtcavit- ROME -Georcia. SHAKESPEARE IN POSSUMVILLE. Assassination of Julius Caesar. By the Possumville dramatic club. PUT TO A NEW USE. . *MAMMA” whispered Bennie as he stole in from the kitchen where the coffee-mill was in use, “ auntie ‘s churning her coffee!” “Renney Stanbus HAD THE WRONG HANDLE. Ruixo—"Gee! That old drunken fool takes me for a pump.” HARD TO EXTERMINATE. Stranger (in Kentucky)—"And you say this feud has existed for over fifty years! It seems in- credible that two families should wage warfare against each other for fifty years and still show no symptoms of stopping. 1 cannot understand it.” Native —“ Strangah, the two families engaged in the scrimmage were the two most prolific fam- ilies in this heah section, SAFE TO SAY. Wilby —“ There's at least one secret a woman : - can keep.” re WOULD Filby—"And what is ** Every copy of *Sapho" should be confiscated and burned.” ity Pray ?” ., _ FROM OUR COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT. Oh, shat would be a buming shame !" Wilby —" Her age.’ Mr. White has been laying in his winter coal, comicbooks.com