Judge — October 5, 1912 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes early aviation's fashion obsession. The illustration shows fashionably dressed people on an airfield, with planes visible in the background. The accompanying verse mocks aviators who prioritize elaborate, "amazing clothes" over actual flying skill. The joke targets how aviation—still a novel marvel—had become a status symbol attracting people more interested in looking the part than genuinely piloting aircraft. References to Mercury (the winged Roman god) emphasize the mythical wonder of flight now made mundane. The satire suggests that some aviation enthusiasts are all style and no substance: they "don't fly just walk about in most amazing clothes," implying they're fashionable poseurs rather than serious aviators. This reflects early 20th-century anxiety about new technologies becoming trendy status symbols among the wealthy and fashionable.