Judge — July 18, 1914 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Those Little Cycle Cars" - Judge Magazine, July 18, 1915 This cartoon satirizes the emerging market for small, affordable "cycle cars"—motorized vehicles bridging bicycles and full automobiles. The humor targets their questionable practicality and safety. The silhouetted figures show an adult man supervising two young children in a tiny vehicle. The caption's joke—"Well, well. Do you feed it gasoline with a nursing bottle?"—mocks the cars' diminutive size and suggests they're toy-like rather than serious transportation. The cartoon likely critiques both the novelty of cycle cars as a fad and parental judgment in using them with children. The artist is Sanford Tousey, a prolific Judge illustrator. This reflects early-1910s skepticism about whether these economical vehicles were legitimate alternatives to traditional cars or merely frivolous gadgets.