Judge — February 14, 1920 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This illustration by F. Foster Lincoln depicts a social awkwardness scenario at what appears to be an elegant estate gathering. The caption reads: "A Tragic Moment. When You Are Introduced to the Girl You Tried to Flirt With Going Down on the Train to Palm Beach." The satire targets the embarrassment of upper-class social encounters. A well-dressed man is being introduced to a woman he previously attempted to flirt with during a train journey to the fashionable Palm Beach resort destination. The humor lies in the uncomfortable collision of his prior attempted seduction with formal social propriety—he must now acknowledge her respectfully in front of witnesses after his earlier casual flirtation. The cartoon mocks the pretensions and social anxieties of wealthy leisure travelers, a recurring Judge magazine theme.