Judge — December 16, 1905 — page 38: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a romantic illustration accompanying a humorous poem about Christmas mistletoe tradition. A woman in an elegant Edwardian gown has placed mistletoe in her hair, while a man approaches in the background—the couple appears positioned under or near decorative mistletoe. The joke relies on the Victorian-era custom where couples could kiss beneath mistletoe during holidays. The woman, receiving the man's written promise to find her "under the mistletoe," takes the instruction literally and places the plant in her hair to ensure he cannot miss the invitation—a playful, direct approach to facilitating the romantic moment. The satire gently mocks both the formality of written communication between potential lovers and the woman's pragmatic solution to leave nothing to chance. It's lighthearted commentary on courtship customs of the era.