Judge, 1903-10-03 · page 10 of 16
Judge — October 3, 1903 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two distinct pieces of satire: **"Literary Perplexities"** mocks the publishing industry's obsession with marketing categories. An author complains he couldn't finish his "book of the century" because publishers kept releasing newer, supposedly superior books—the "book of the decade," then "book of the year," "book of the month," "book of the week," "book of the day," and finally "book of the hour." The joke satirizes how commercial publishing constantly chases trends and creates artificial urgency, making any serious literary work obsolete before completion. **The four-panel cartoon** shows an artist painting flies onto his canvas to deter actual flies from landing on his work—they mistake the painted flies for real ones. The humor is visual and straightforward: clever practical deception. **"In Wyoming"** is a brief frontier joke about mistaking drunk deer for hunting targets, playing on the lawlessness of the Old West. **"A Freak"** features Irish dialect humor (common in period humor) where a suitor dismissively deflates his lover's dramatic "finger of fate" declaration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LITERARY PERPLEXITIES, ‘HE plodding author gazes discon- solately at the heap of manuscript before him. . “Is it not yet finished ?” we ask, “Tt does not seem long since you told us you were at work ‘on the book of the century.” “ Oh,” he answers, * this is another story en- tirely. I did not finish the book of the century.” “So? Why not ?” “Why, when I was half way through writing it some fellow pub- lished the book of the decade. Before that had touched the high-water mark of sales the book of the decade was in the half. Bronco Bit—'* Why, tenderfoot, how you talk! page advertise- inasaloon?" ments. No sooner was the book of the decade on the counters than the book of the year was announced. It was eclipsed by the book of the month, and that died before the onward rush of the book of the week, and that sank into oblivion under the irrepressible rush of the book of the day, which was hurled into the limbo of forgotten things by the arrival of the IN WYOMING. Eastern sroxtsuan—“ Is there any danger of a man getting shot out here by mistake for a deer?" book of the hour.” He resumes shaking his head sadly. « And,” we venture, “is this work you are now engaged upon to be the book of the min- ute?” “Thad hoped so,” he tells us ; “Thad hoped so. But who can say? Maybe before I have \ reached the last page of the manuscript literature will have struck a split- second gait.” _ A FREAK, 66 A VAUNT and A quit me sight!" says our heroine. “I point the finger of fate at you!” Our hero, Pat- No. Who ever heerd of a deer gettin’ drunk an’ sassy Tick O'Tunder— for it is indeed that worthy man— smiles his best smile and replies with much animation, “The finger av fate? Shure, if yure fate has fingers yez ought to draw enough wa-ages in a dime-muse-um to s'pport the unfarch'nit mon thot gits ye fer a husband.” And having thus retorted, he speedily “ avaunts.” JUST THE THING. NOW I CAN FINISH READING MY PAPER, comicbooks.com | | | |