Judge — October 31, 1914 — page 1: what you’re looking at

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# "Steady Work" — Judge, October 31, 1914 This illustration depicts a woman performing acrobatic labor—balancing precariously while juggling or holding objects. The caption "Steady Work" is ironic commentary on women's employment during World War I. With the U.S. not yet formally involved but the war affecting the economy, this likely satirizes the precarious nature of women's wartime work. Women were entering industrial jobs vacated by men serving in the military, yet their employment was considered temporary and unstable—hence "steady work" as sarcasm. The acrobatic pose suggests the difficult balancing act women performed: maintaining households while performing demanding factory labor, all while their position in the workforce remained uncertain and contingent on war conditions. The image reflects early-1914 anxieties about shifting gender roles during wartime.