Judge — February 8, 1902 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Judge Magazine Analysis The central illustration shows "Three Square Citizens of New York"—three men in formal dress holding what appear to be membership cards or certificates. Based on the surrounding text discussing "clubs" (mentioning "club-sandwich," "sky club skate," and various social clubs like "Lotos, Salmagundi, Union, Moneybags, Aldine, Players, Lambs, and Orange Country clubs"), this satirizes New York's exclusive club culture. The satire targets wealthy Manhattan gentlemen's clubs of the era—institutions that defined social status and respectability. The three identical figures emphasize how conformist and interchangeable these "square citizens" are despite their pretensions to distinction. The accompanying text mocks club membership as a marker of importance while highlighting the absurdity of such exclusivity.