Judge, 1916-01-22 · page 5 of 28
Judge — January 22, 1916 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon depicts a German music teacher instructing an American landlady's daughter on the violin. The satire mocks early 20th-century American social pretensions and German cultural snobbery. The landlady's daughter claims to play violin, but the German instructor dismisses her abilities, stating she's "as snug as can be" and wishing he'd learned to perform "der leedle piggolo intet" (the little piccolo instead). The joke ridicules: (1) wealthy Americans paying for European music instruction to appear cultured, (2) German teachers' condescending attitude toward American students, and (3) the linguistic comedy of fractured German-English dialogue. The elaborate room and formal dress emphasize the pretension being mocked—despite expensive lessons, the student remains untalented.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The landlady's daughter—Oh, my! You're as snug as can be in here, you and your fiddle, aren't you, Herr Jeestring? Herr J.—Ya. Ve are snoog, aber zumdimes | wish I vould hat learned it to berform der leedle piggolo instet. comicbooks.com