Judge, 1913-03-29 · page 17 of 24
Judge — March 29, 1913 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks wealthy American high society through a fake "natural history" of the elk. The text humorously describes elks eating "Welsh rarebit and club sandwiches"—fancy foods associated with gentlemen's clubs—rather than actual vegetation. The cartoons illustrate the joke: the upper panel shows elks behaving like humans (greeting each other with "Hello, Bill!"), while the lower panel depicts well-dressed gentlemen in top hats interacting with an actual elk, blurring the line between animal and "civilized" man. The satire suggests that wealthy "Domesticated Elk" possess only average human virtue despite their pretensions to being "Best People On Earth." It's a commentary on the artificiality and superficiality of the leisure class, implying they're barely more refined than animals despite their fashionable trappings and exclusive club culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
UNNATURAL HISTORY LESSONS The Elk THE Elk, one of our most interesting animals, is found in all parts of the United States. Though com- monly considered as wild, it has become partially domes- ticated. It gives a strange cry when accosted, which sounds very much like, ‘‘Hello, Bill!" Elks are often found roaming about at night, usually in small droves. Their principal food is Welsh rarebit and club sand- wiches. After feeding, they sometimes stampede. Their bellows can be heard for miles on these occasions. The Elk is a brave animal, except in the presence of its mate, when it becomes very quiet. It has often been known to lie still for a long time; in fact, some Elks began to lie when they first met their mates and are ing still. Elks have beautiful teeth—which, by the , are their principal charms. The Elk has a strong constitution and can go for along time without water; in fact, it is said that some of them never drink water. The Elks are protected by the government, and it is unlawful to shoot them. Of course the Domesticated Elk—of which there are tens of thousands in the United States—is possessor of most of the virtues of humanity and no more than an average of humanity's vices. He is Benevolent, Protective, a friend of Order, and by vir- tue of these characteristics is known with his brothers among the Best People On Earth.—cartem G. Gar esse [a et— comicbooks.com