Judge, 1901-06-01 · page 5 of 16
Judge — June 1, 1901 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes shallow romantic assessment. Two figures discuss whether a woman named Ethel Gotrox qualifies as an "ideal beauty." The male respondent's answer is heavily qualified: he'd find her beautiful only if he were young, poor, deeply in debt, and completely without conscience. The joke targets fortune-hunting: a man without morals or means would pursue an unattractive woman if she had money. The "qualified endorsement" is actually a savage insult—he's saying Gotrox is only desirable to an unscrupulous fortune-seeker. The cartoon mocks both dishonest men who marry for money and, implicitly, wealthy women perceived as unattractive who might attract such suitors.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
QUALIFIED INDORSEMENT. Giapys—"* Would you call Ethel Gotrox an ideal beauty?" Eprr—"Oh, yes, If I were a young man, very poor, awfully in debt, and wholly conscienceless, I think I would.”