Judge, 1919-02-08 · page 9 of 32
Judge — February 8, 1919 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Poor Fish!" — A Piano Recital Satire This page satirizes the pretensions and distracted thoughts of concert-goers attending a piano recital. Rather than listening genuinely, each audience member mentally indulges selfish concerns: the pianist worries about catching a train and his manager; an emotionally-moved woman romanticizes the performer; a student judges his technique; a couple wants him to finish; a young woman hopes he noticed her flowers; and a critic focuses on pedaling technique. A child simply notices his large feet. The humor lies in the gap between polite concert etiquette and actual internal thoughts—nobody is truly engaged with the music itself. The title "Poor Fish!" suggests the naive pianist, unaware his audience isn't genuinely appreciating his performance. The surrounding short humor pieces mock wartime social changes and romantic/business absurdities, likely from the WWI era given references to soldiers and women's new roles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drown by Catvear Survu Poor Fisu! What Everybody Thought of at the Piano Recital By Harvey Peake HE Pianist—I wonder if I can make the 11.10 for New York? I want to raise H— with my mana- ger tomorrow. Tue Woman 1x 3B—Only a man who was carrying around a heart-breaking sorrow could play that Adagio ike that. ¢ Tue Piano Srupent in THE Batcony—He doesn’t play it half fast enough. Why Professor Chordz simply rips through it. Tue Man wiry tig Woman tx 3B—Won't the nut ever get tired and quit? Tue Younc Woman 1x tue Lert-Hano Box—l wish he knew that I was the one who sent the violets to his hotel this morning. . Tue Critic in tue Atste Seat—His pedalling is A Suggestive Title Editor—What book was Mr. Taft so wrapped up in when you called to interview him on the President’s trip abroad? Reporter—“ Put Yourself In His Place.” Business He—Wvill you promise to marry me? She—No, but I'd like to have an option on you until the end of the season! Dull Times First Newsboy—Dere ain’t no news in de papers any more. Second Newsboy—No. I'm Dron by Joux Hei, Jn. rotten, but he thinks nobody knows the difference in this town. Tue Younc Girt Wino Came In on A Pass der if he is all there is to the show? Tue Spinster Cuorus 1x THE Parquet—Marvel- lous! Soul searching! Such arpeggios! Singularly sweet! Really heart-breaking! ‘Tue Rear Musician in THE Gattery—Nobody has ever played that with the depth of feeling put into it by de Pachmann. Tue Jazz Extnustast—If he would just make a lit- tle more noise, he ought to make good in vaudeville. Tne hittte Boy in tne Front Row, Apmitrep By Mistaxe—Ain’t he got big feet? -I won- Knew His Job A soldier just released from the service was the guest of friends at a dinner in cele- bration of his, return home. The waiter placed an elaborate silver service around the table, The soldier looked at the showy array, carefully selected one knife, one fork and one spoon. Shoving the rest of the silver from him, to the surprise of his hosts, he remarked, “Too much equipment to keep clean.” Competition Manager—Losing your punch, old man? You don’t seem to bé holding the audience at all to- night. Comedian—Aw, what can I do? There’s a couple of Yanks with foreign service stripes in one of selling dem now by hollering de the boxes. headlines of de advertisements. men, who is to As women are going far in supplanti is over? take the wamen’s places now that the wa comicbooks.com