Judge, 1901-02-16 · page 16 of 16
Judge — February 16, 1901 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comedic domestic scene playing on a misunderstanding. A small girl, "Little Dorothy," asks a pharmacist for rat poison "for father," claiming her mother wants to eliminate rats that "father's had for two weeks." The joke relies on the pharmacist's confused double-take—he initially misinterprets the girl's innocent request as suggesting her mother wants to poison her husband. The humor derives from the awkward implication before the clarification that they're dealing with actual rodent pests. The cartoon satirizes the literal-mindedness of children and plays on marital discord themes common to early 1900s humor. The exaggerated facial expressions of both characters emphasize the comedic misunderstanding. This reflects period attitudes treating spousal conflict as fodder for public amusement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
E ie) o n < ° fo) Fey g = ie) ° COPYRGNT 1901 BY JUDGE COMPANY OF NEW YORK HE HAD T ATS.” Sacheith Witheins iho & Px Co NewYork LirtLx Dorotiy—"* Please, sir, mother wants ten cents’ worth of rat-poison for father.” Tue pruccist—* Rat-poison for your father?” Lrrriz Dororuy—" Yes; mother wants it to kill rats. Father 's had ‘em for two weeks, and she wants to get rid of ‘em.”