Judge, 1902-12-20 · page 40 of 52
Judge — December 20, 1902 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects satirical vignettes typical of Judge's humor. Key pieces: **"A Christmas Presentation"** mocks pretentious gift-giving—Mr. Stork delivers "precious jewels" (a baby), a joke on wealthy absurdity. **The "Grass Widow" anecdote** targets affected society women at resorts who obsess over propriety while gossiping. **"After the Snowfall"** ridicules upper-class women (Mrs. Hightofashun) who complain about street dirt while doing nothing, with her husband sarcastically noting women spend all their time sweeping—implying idle leisure. **"Reward Offered"** jokes about a daughter wanting to return a Christmas gift to check its price, satirizing mercenary materialism. **Rural vignettes** (Florida farm, boy asking about thirst) contrast naive country folk with biblical or folk wisdom. **The Christmas Judge** caricature at bottom appears to be the magazine's mascot character. Overall, the page satirizes class pretension, materialism, and gender stereotypes common to Gilded Age American society. The humor targets wealthy affectation and hypocrisy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION. A merry Christmas, Mr. Jones; your rapture please uncork, And take these precious jewels. Yours respectfully, Mr. Stork. | (¢THERES a woman on the piazza,” said the first guest at the St. Augustine hotel, «in a lawn dress, reading the epistle to Timothy.” F “1 know her,” said the second guest. “She's that grass widow who was talking so much at breakfast about having everything harmonious and appropriate.” AFTER THE SNOW- FALL. Mrs. Hightofash- un (brushing her latest gown)—" It does seem as if the streets were never in so dirty a con- dition as they are just now !" ‘i Hightofashun — “I'm sure they ought to be clean; the maior- ity of the women spend most of their spare time sweeping them.” ON A FLORIDA am were Reward Offered. ‘Will the burglars who broke into Jona- than Smith’s house on Christmas eve and stole his daughter's present from Cholly Litehedd please return the same. A liberal reward will be paid and no ques- tions asked. She wants to take it back and price it, FARM. . Boy (hoeing corn)—“ Say, Uncle Si, I'm so thirsty I've got to hey a drink.” You believe in Santa Claus, don't you, Bobby ?”* Silas Hardscrabble— Why, son, didn’t ye hear Elder Dippem say in his sermon “Do you mean Just before or after Christmas, uncle 2” yisteddy, * Hoe every one that thirsteth "2" FLYING LIGHT. j Gustave—» When you took Miss Millyuns to dine Petro—* Do you believe that there is an underground sea‘? a Dan dla che order anit entvess eee Leum— Certainly, Where else could the whales be that are } Percival (horrified) —" Heavens! no. If she had L spouting oil in Texas ? would have been obliged to make my exit !" Here the Curistuas Jupce. ‘Till | light m; Ends and I'm a-brim <3 And with eran main ‘With the rapture that Turn it over and Makes me skip and skim Read it all again. COPYRIGHT 1902 BY. JUDGE COMPANY OF NEW YORK. ‘Sackett 8 Wibeins ithe & Pg (o.Rew York. comicbooks.com