Judge — October 14, 1916 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "His Telephone Reference Card" This satirical cartoon depicts a telephone handset styled as a human head, with multiple female faces arranged in a circular pattern where the dial would be. The caption "His Telephone Reference Card" suggests the joke: a man's telephone contains reminders of various women he knows—likely romantic interests or acquaintances. The satire targets the social practice of men maintaining multiple female contacts, treating women as interchangeable options to be "dialed up" as needed. This reflects early 20th-century gender dynamics where women were sometimes portrayed as objects of pursuit rather than individuals. The cartoon humorously critiques male social behavior while playing on the novelty of telephone technology itself.