Judge — December 5, 1908 — page 32: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a six-panel comic strip satirizing wealth inequality and materialism during the Christmas season. Bill Boggs, a poor man, is initially asked by children what he wants for Christmas—he says "anything." He's then dressed as Santa Claus for a holiday performance. However, the subsequent panels show him becoming increasingly battered and mistreated, covered in bumps and bruises from being roughed up. By the final panels, he's somehow transformed into or decorated as an actual Christmas tree, surrounded by a wealthy family enjoying the holiday abundance. The satire appears to critique how poor people are exploited during Christmas—used for entertainment and labor, then discarded—while the wealthy enjoy the season's pleasures.