Judge — March 13, 1920 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Judge Magazine Cover Analysis This is the cover of Judge magazine from March 13, 1920, priced at 15 cents. The illustration, credited to Charles Barberville Jr., depicts a couple dancing together, labeled "Bosom Friends" at the bottom. The cartoon appears to be social commentary on 1920s courtship and intimacy during the Jazz Age. "Bosom Friends" is a playful double entendre—the phrase traditionally meant close companions, but here the proximity of the dancing couple (with the man embracing the woman closely) makes the joke literal. The cartoon likely satirizes the increasingly casual physical intimacy and modern dating practices of young people in the 1920s, which many considered scandalous compared to Victorian propriety. The elegant styling reflects the fashionable "flapper" era.