Judge — May 11, 1901 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

**Top cartoon:** An old wealthy man ("Old Button") interrogates a young suitor seeking to marry his daughter. The joke is the father's circular logic: he refuses to let the suitor take his daughter to the Pan-American Exhibition (a major 1901 world's fair) because the suitor has never had a daughter himself—therefore lacks experience caring for one. The satire mocks overprotective fathers and their unreasonable objections to suitors. **Bottom cartoon:** Features racist caricatures with exaggerated features labeled "Buster" and "Rastus" (stereotypical names for Black men). The humor depends on period minstrelsy conventions: Rastus claims he bought an artificial leg only to wear on special occasions—specifically Sundays and visits to the Pan-American Exhibition. This trades on dehumanizing stereotypes of the era, reflecting the deeply racist attitudes embedded in early 20th-century American popular media. Both cartoons reference the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, a major contemporary event.