Judge, 1911-11-25 · page 10 of 24
Judge — November 25, 1911 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine contains humorous Thanksgiving-themed content from the early 20th century. The satire centers on attitudes toward turkeys and holiday food traditions. **"The Bird Lover"** is a courtship poem where a suitor claims to love birds—but reveals he means eating them (turkey, duck, quail, partridge). The joke plays on the double meaning of "love," suggesting romantic sentiment masks appetite. **"Turkey Travesties"** offers witty aphorisms about turkeys' fate: they're fed all year, then killed and roasted. One quip contrasts the eagle on coins with the turkey "nearer our hearts"—meaning on dinner plates. **"A Vegetarian's Thanksgiving"** mocks vegetarians who claim moral superiority while still enjoying turkey's *aroma*—suggesting they want the benefit without the principle. **"The First Thanksgiving Turkey"** comic strip (illustrations I-VI) appears to depict a turkey's misadventures, though specific details are unclear from the image. The overall theme: early 1900s Americans found vegetarianism or squeamishness about eating meat hypocritical and amusing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Bird Lover. By TUDOR JENKS. 66T-)ON’T you love birds?’’ the maiden asked. Her eyes of heaven's own blue Forbade deceit, and so straightway I made this answer true: “Some birds I most sincerely love— The turkey first, for choice. When plumply stuffed and browned, It makes my heart rejoice. crisply “The duck I would give second place; For, served with small French peas And roasted till it’s juicy sweet, How can duck fail to please? “And quail or partridge has good points. When stretched upon hot toast, It fills the gaping interval Between the fish and roast. “And so, my dear, birds have their place, As men have known of yore. It’s only when they're studied That birds become a bore.’’ Digestations. FINE feathers destroy fine birds. Reno is a siding upon which many promises are switched. Turkey Travesties. A TURKEY goes hungry all his days, and gets stuffed when the oper: tion no longer appeals to him, That's life for you. The three children of the family com- plain because a turkey has only two legs. Not so with the farmer who had to capture it. It’s a poorly roasted turkey that had no turning. The peacock may be a beautiful bird, but it’s the turkey that commands the money. You can roast a farmer’s pet turkey and cook his goose—but you pay for them. It’s a wise housewife who prepares sage dressing. The eagle we put on our coins; the turkey we place nearer our hearts. The fact that a turkey uses fowl lan- guage is no sign he’s tough. —Denald A. Kaha. wy is it at Thanksgiving time The ‘‘poets’’ all get busy, And fill the papers with such rhyme As to make the readers dizzy? THE FIRST THANKSGIVING TURKEY. A Vegetarian’s Thanksgiving. By 8. B. RISER. ’'M THANKFUL for the celery, The carrots, and the onion stew; I'm thankful for the beans; to me The turnips look inviting, too. The sweet potatoes give me glee, The parsnips gladly I assail; But best of all things is the rich Aroma of the turkey which I am permitted to inhale. With proper thanks I break the crust That Fortune lays beside my plate; I shun the oysters, for I must Not carelessly be tempting Fate. The giblets all aside I thrust— To me they are of no avail— And long I linger gazing at The rich and juicy mince pie that I must not eat, but may inhale. Thanksgiving Trials. 6s]T’S AWFUL, nowadays!’’ solilo- quized the turkey, a few days be- fore Thanksgiving Day. “If you stay on the ground, the farmer with the axe will get you; and if you roost on the topmost limb of a high tree, out of the farmer's reach, you’re run into and killed by one of those flying machines.’” comicbooks.com