Judge, 1904-12-17 · page 17 of 48
Judge — December 17, 1904 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"A Polar Ditty"** depicts a romantic fantasy: a couple (Reggie and Elaine) in an Arctic setting where harsh winter conditions become irrelevant because love transforms their experience into paradise. The poem uses contrast—cold seas and ice floes versus their warm emotional state—to celebrate romantic devotion. **"Irresistible"** is a racial caricature cartoon set in "Coonville" (a dehumanizing period term for Black communities). It depicts Miss Washington using makeup to attract local men, presenting the joke as her artificially applied lips causing an uncontrollable attraction among the boys shown in exaggerated racial caricature. The second cartoon relies on deeply offensive racist stereotypes common to early-1900s American humor—depicting Black people with grotesque features and suggesting they're easily manipulated by superficial means. This reflects the casual racism embedded in mainstream publications of the era, which modern readers should recognize as bigoted propaganda rather than humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A POLAR DITTY. Though coldly the breezes whirl over the wave, For Reggie's on deck with his fairy Elaine, And moan lonely airs in the icicle cave, And kisses her fondly, again and again: And press on the thick floes that scuttle the ships, And smiles when he tells her that this is the way For Reggie and Elaine the time gayly slips. That love turns to summer the wild winter day. She shows by her smile that she dreams in a spell And that's why the whirlwind that tosses the sea, Unhelped by the charm of the lush caramel. To them’s like a zephyr in summer's bright lea: She knows, furthermore, when the Christmas-bells swing, While fondly they linger with rapture insane, That Reggie will fly to her side with a ring. Brave, haughty Lord Reg. and his fairy Elaine. Faeatilom IRRESISTIBLE. By the judicious use of her brother's box of paints, Miss Washington constructs a pair of lips whose seductiveness gets the Coonville boys wild. COPrRIGNT 1904 By JUDGE COMPANY PUBLISHERS, 226 FOURTH AVE NEM TORK Sackett B Wilbeias limo b Pig Co New Yor comicbooks.com