Judge — September 3, 1904 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1904 satirical page contains two separate jokes targeting working-class Irish immigrants: **"Like Father, Like Son"** (top): Uncle and Mrs. Gorerik discuss their youngest son being swindled with counterfeit money within an hour of arriving in New York City. The joke's punchline—"chip o' the old block"—suggests the father has a history of similar criminal schemes, mocking Irish immigrants as dishonest. **"Right in the Swim"** (bottom): Mr. and Mrs. Rooney discuss their daughter Maggie spilling iodine on her hands. His solution: pour the rest on her face to fake a fashionable Newport tan (Newport being an exclusive wealthy resort). The joke satirizes working-class pretension and aspiration to wealthy appearance. Both cartoons use heavy Irish dialect and stereotypical names to mock Irish-American immigrants as crude, dishonest, and foolishly status-conscious. The illustrations exaggerate facial features in period-typical caricature style.