Judge — March 3, 1917 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a street scene sketch by Robert Ball depicting Fortieth Street and Fifth Avenue in New York. The cartoon's humor relies on a double meaning of "catch" in the dialogue between two observers, Nan and Jock. Nan comments that "Helen's fairly throwing herself at Billy" (pursuing him romantically). Jock responds that "Billy's an awfully poor catch"—meaning Billy is an undesirable romantic prospect, likely due to poverty or low social status. The irony is visual: in the crowded urban street scene below them, someone appears to be literally throwing or catching something, creating a pun on the word "catch." This juxtaposes the refined social commentary of the dialogue with the mundane street activity, a typical Judge magazine approach to humor.