Judge, 1908-04-18 · page 6 of 18
Judge — April 18, 1908 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical vignettes typical of early 20th-century Judge magazine humor: **"The Discontented Lobster"** mocks social climbing and aspirational immigrants. A lobster dreams of abandoning his "contempt for local tailors" to hobnob with "big bugs at swell hotels" in New York. The moral: his ambition literally costs him a claw in a fight, and he ends poverty-stricken on the Bowery—satirizing how New York promises exceed reality for the working-class ambitious. **"Too Frank"** and other brief pieces use wordplay and social awkwardness for humor—a woman speaking "without fear" is shunned; a playwright confronts an actor's ad-libbed criticism. **"How He Squared Himself"** plays on stage etiquette and the writer's fragile ego—a heckler apologizes, revealing he's the playwright himself. The cartoons throughout feature exaggerated characters in social situations, using physical comedy and dialogue-based jokes typical of the era's genteel satire targeting middle-class pretension and social missteps.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHILE HE WAITS. |AREWELL to bird and bottle, play and dance! F Yon holy man will guide her thoughts above. e! whe casts one long, regretful glanc To where he stands, her first and only love. Lent lilies fac and the Monsicur the Devil has his own again. THE DISCONTENTED LOBSTER. there was a lobster who sat in his lobster bed and sighed, His limitations e expecially when he thought of the bright-red coats of lobsters he hi he mbre-hued garb, his contempt for the local tailors knew Y ind spring hats bloom, . in sharp contrast to his dal purus, m going away fi had acquired the accent fro "he announced fin a lobster whe had among them, and who had once belonged in the preserves of a ish lord. “Going away? vstioned his mother dramatically. “Yes, Tam tired hanging round here, Lwant t into the Y to gy swim, u're in the swim pbserved his little brother, who was also the now, villa rr Tam speaking figur- atively, °gillie,"” retorted Ignoring this last witticism, the dissatisfied one continued, “I'm tired of these old clothes and the rest of the has-beens ‘TOO FR a “There was a young lady named Ki t what sh he’s She speaks without fear But they shunned her by common consent. around this town, New York ix the place for me “This is a pretty kettle of fish," said his mother feebly. “ Twant to hobnob with the big bugs at the swell hotel he went on, . “It's plain to be seen that you are indeed a lobster a regular chip off the ol block,’ said his mother, She tried her best to dissuade him from his purpose, but in vain, ‘The next time the lobster fishermen came around the young man departed. But it happened that, on the way to New York, he got into a fight and lost one of his claws. thus imperfect, he never got farther north than Fourteenth Street, and ended his days lunch counter. Who always said People said, Being a Bowery free- Moral—New York is a big. pla guts 0, sonea, HOW HE SQUARED HIMSELF. , SPEARS FROM EXPERIENCE: 66 FF) OTTEN!” involuntarily exclaimed Hig- 66 PAFAs when is chucch over! . gins at the play. “I beg your pardon," Oh, when you get to be about eighteen. he said to the startled man in the next seat, thinking possibly he was a friend of the actor. ‘I’m always saying something to hurt some one’s feelings; but I assure you I was not referring to the star—merely his }ines."* “Oh, don’t worry about me,’ he replied. “I'm only the man who wrote the play.”” THE MODERN EDUCATION. meant, “J SHOULD never have thought that studying would have cost so much father; and if you studied."" BROTHERLY Sister Clara—"""Vha tific name for snoring. Fraternal cho nd E done it all myself"? only knew how little I have SZow: K @ A FELLOW from Detroit WE POOR HUM wants to know the scien- “*Ah, my dear Mrs. Flamingo, you are so fortunate!” “Why, how's th: “You never have to ask Mr. Flam n't need to tell us!” ** Sheet music,” John, your dress in the back.” - Ars. Peli > to button up comicbooks.com