Judge, 1902-08-16 · page 5 of 16
Judge — August 16, 1902 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon mocks wealthy women of Newport, Rhode Island—then America's premier elite seaside resort. Two fashionably dressed women discuss "nerves" (a common Victorian complaint among idle society women). The joke's punchline: one woman's "nervous condition" is actually her husband's refusal to give her money for spending. The satire targets both the pretension of wealthy wives claiming medical ailments and the absurdity of their complaints—framing financial dependence and marital control as a health crisis rather than acknowledging it as a real power imbalance. Newport symbolized American high society excess, making it the perfect setting for mocking frivolous upper-class women. The accompanying editor's note reveals this was an amateur art competition, suggesting Judge encouraged reader participation in satirizing contemporary social figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
— Penavyn STAN RS. COPYRIGHT, 1902, wy 1uOGE COMPANY OF NEW TORK A CASE OF NEWPORT “ NERVES.” “Oh, my foodness! lam a victim of nerves.”” “You are?” “Yes, indeed. When I ask my husband for money he has the nerve to refuse me.”” EDITOR'S NOTE.—Here i a compstiion or amateur arnts. JUDGE will pay TEN DOLLARS for the best hand-colored copy ofthe above drawing. On receipt of twenty, five cents in stamps a special hand.proof of the drawing, printed in black outline. upon Steinbach water-color paper, will be sent to any This is tobe aad by address. Prool ‘colored by the amateur artist in water-colors, crayon, or ofl, and must be sent to us by mail, postage preparl, addressed to the Judge Art Department, 110 Fifth Avenue, New York. No copy other than the special proof-copy can be uxed in this Competition comicbooks.com