Judge, 1913-07-19 · page 14 of 24
Judge — July 19, 1913 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a silent-film-style comic strip mocking romantic courtship conventions of the early 20th century. The narrative follows Harold, who attempts to win a woman's affection by bribing her suitor Percy with roses. Harold then uses those same roses to court the woman himself—suggesting that romantic "gestures" are merely commodities exchanged rather than genuine expressions of feeling. The three accompanying jokes satirize contemporary social anxieties: the first mocks how women's participation in public activities (auto shows, flower shows) limits romantic opportunities for men; the second puns on unmarried women as "singular pronouns"; the third ridicules a police officer's misunderstanding of his duties through a crude pun on "pull his leg." The humor targets gender dynamics and social competition in the era, presenting romance as transactional rather than meaningful.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE'S MOTION PICTURES PERCY ORDERS THE ROSES. AND THISTIME HAROLD DOES THE BRIBING ° ANDTHEN HAROLD WINS |) FAVOR. WITH | 4 PERCYS ROSES. The Course of True Love, in which everything is considered fair. Too Much Competition «HANG it!’ mutters the enraptured youth, ‘‘What chance have I to get her alone? She has to go to the au- to show, the food show, the flower show, the dog show, the millinery show, the land show and— Oh, well, there’s noshow for me!" Unwedded Teacher (in grammar class)—What is a singular pronoun, Johnny? Johnny—One that isn’t married yet. While there are laws against artificial coloring for foodstuffs, it is an open sea- son for artificially colored complexions. His Doty Policeman (loquiter)—I seen my duty an’ I done it. I says to the captain, “There’s a guy runnin’ a tough joint down the street." The captain says to me, ‘‘Go pull''—an’ I starts to go—‘‘his leg,’? says the captain. So I seen my duty an’ I done it. comicbooks.com