Judge — July 10, 1920 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page, July 10, 1920 This illustration depicts a social scene at what appears to be a European location (note the classical architecture in background). The cartoon's caption reads: "She seems to have a great many admirers" and "My dear Ethel, she's the catch of the season. Her father left her the best-stocked cellar in this country." The satire targets Prohibition-era America (ratified January 1920). The "catch of the season" isn't a debutante praised for her accomplishments or family status, but rather a woman whose appeal derives from her father's illegal alcohol collection. The joke mocks how Prohibition created perverse incentives—wealth in contraband liquor became a marriageable asset, and wealthy families' wine cellars transformed into objects of desire and social currency.