Judge — November 9, 1918 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Good-Bye, Old Pal!" This Judge magazine cover from November 9, 1918 depicts a cowboy soldier saying farewell to his horse at a "Local Board" recruitment office, with other soldiers waiting nearby. The cartoon commemorates the end of World War I, which concluded with the Armistice on November 11, 1918—just two days after this publication. The "old pal" (the horse) represents the military equipment and wartime mobilization being retired as soldiers demobilized. The satire captures the bittersweet transition from wartime to peace: soldiers bidding farewell to their wartime companions and the military apparatus that sustained the war effort. The cowboy aesthetic emphasizes the American character of the troops heading home after the conflict's conclusion.