Judge — April 11, 1914 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "An American Greenback" This Judge magazine cover from April 11, 1914 satirizes American wealth and materialism through a stylized silhouette. A fashionably dressed woman in an enormous hat stands beside an ornate chair, holding what appears to be money or valuables. A small dog sits at her feet. The title "An American Greenback" (slang for U.S. currency) suggests the cartoon equates the woman herself with money—she represents American wealth, excess, and the nouveau riche aesthetic of the era. The exaggerated hat and silhouette mock contemporary high society fashion and conspicuous consumption. The woman's posture suggests vanity and superficiality. This likely critiques early 20th-century American materialism and the ostentatious displays of wealth common among the wealthy class during the Progressive Era.