Judge, 1915-10-30 · page 7 of 28
Judge — October 30, 1915 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks the stereotype of wives who claim to be "ready in a minute" but endlessly delay departure through a cascade of last-minute requests. The husband waits while his wife searches for gloves, hat pins, handkerchiefs, shoe-buttoners, fans, and wraps—each discovery prompting another task. The joke captures early-20th-century gender dynamics: women lacked pockets, required assistance buttoning shoes, and relied on husbands to fetch items. The wife's constant refrain—"I'll be ready in just a minute"—contrasts sharply with the husband's repeated observation that the automobile is "going fast" (implying they're missing their departure window). The accompanying cartoon "Full Measure" and "Entering the War Zone" appear unrelated to this domestic humor, suggesting the page contains multiple satirical pieces typical of Judge magazine's format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Eric—That automobile’s goin’ fast ! 66YOU READY, dear?” calls out the husband of the ready-in-a-minute wife as he draws on his gloves It is time xv ere off. We next car if we don’t start ute. ing to do but —where’s my gloves? I saw them a mo- ment ago and I—where can those gloves be? Oh, here they are! I don’t see what I laid them on that chair for! In just a minute now I will—where is my hat pin? always leave it in my hat and it isn’t there now! Couldn’t you come up and look for it, dear, while I—what did I do with that handkerchief? I don’t dare go without one when I feel as if I had a cold coming on! And you must keep near me so that you can carry it in your pocket. We women never have pockets any more. Where on carth is that hat pin? In just a minute, dear. Don’t be so impatient. There are other cars if we do miss this one, and—can’t you come ti N \ AY, ——! N —=-\ ‘\ \y ‘ FULL MEASURE Aunt—You must not drop your g's like that, Eric, dear. The Ready-in-a-Minute Wife By J. 1. HARBOUR up and button my shoes for me, dear? forgot that I hadn’t buttoned them yet. That’s a dear! I can draw on my gloves lec you are buttoning my shoes and— where in time has that shoe-buttoner gone? I always keep it right here on this little hook and it isn’t there now! Who could have—no, you can’t button my shoes with your fingers. I could do it with a hair-pin but I don’t believe that you can. You'll have to have. that hook and it—here it is in this little drawer. I never put it there! I'll be ready as soon as—where is my fan? I won't go without it. It is so nice to have something in one’s hands and—I was sure I had laid it on the bed and now—thanks, dear, for buttoning my shoes. Can’t you look around a little for that fan while I am getting on my hat? And get my wrap out of the closet —the blue wrap with the black fur on it. Where is that puff-ball? I must powder my nose a little. It’s so red with my cold coming on. Does my hair look all right in the back? You sure you hooked all of the hooks up Eric—Gee! that automobile’s goin’ fast ! the back of my dress? Tom! To say a thing like that!) Run down and get my rub- bers out of the hall closet. I'll be ready in just a minute.” There are some people who don’t seem to know any more about raising children than if they had children of their own. ENTERING THE WAR ZONE comicbooks.com