Judge — October 28, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine page satirizes stock market fraud and shady financial schemes. The illustration depicts a well-dressed woman labeled "Little Lamb"—a naive investor—sitting at a desk with a stock broker (Mary Grafter & Co.). The left sidebar lists the broker's fraudulent "specialties": obvious scams like "Common Bunco," "Dough Excavating," "Shaky Sugar," and "Jonah Gold Mining"—all transparent con games. The bid/ask price columns on the right show typical stock quotations. The satire is straightforward: the "little lamb" is an innocent victim about to be fleeced by unscrupulous stock brokers using obviously fake investment schemes. The cartoon mocks both the brazen dishonesty of financial operators and the gullibility of retail investors during an era (likely early 1900s) when stock market regulation was minimal and fraud was rampant.