Judge — December 1, 1906 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Filling the Niches" This December 1906 *Judge* cartoon satirizes what appears to be big-game hunting, likely commentary on wealthy sportsmen or industrialists. The caricatured figure with exaggerated mustache and cowboy hat holds up freshly killed game—a deer and what appears to be a wild boar or similar animal—posed triumphantly over the carcasses. The title "Filling the Niches" suggests the cartoon critiques trophy hunting or the display of kills as status symbols. The theatrical pose and grotesque characterization mock the vanity of hunters seeking to showcase their conquests. This likely reflects Progressive Era concerns about conservation and the excess of gilded-age wealth spent on leisure hunting expeditions.