Judge, 1920-08-21 · page 29 of 36
Judge — August 21, 1920 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This illustrated story satirizes the social climbing and etiquette coaching that characterized the 1920s. Vergie Vim, a woman from an old-money family initially dismissed by society ("none had wished to know"), becomes a sought-after social consultant teaching nouveau riche aspirants how to behave like the gentry—how to walk, bow, smile, and "make an entry." The satire targets the newly wealthy ("nouveaux riches ambitious") desperately seeking social legitimacy by hiring coaching, while mocking Vergie's sudden value despite her previous obscurity. The final punchline—Vergie declining payment because she's "too ver-sa-tile"—plays on her name and her newfound versatility as a multi-talented social fixer. The piece reflects post-WWI anxieties about class fluidity and the rise of newly rich industrialists who lacked traditional social credentials.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
August 21, 1920 Versatile Vergie (Series Number Two) By Wituias Wattace Wuttetock Ilustrations by Lauren Stout Tiguan Vergie Vim was in the seeim ‘OW, one of these, a Mrs. Pease, Her people were old-timers— Asked Vergie if she'd take her, She often met, outside her set, And teach her how to walk and bow, A lot of social climbers. And socially remake her: 'O Vergie taught her how she ought To imitate the gentry; To blush and smile and put on style, And how to make an entry. ROM that forth, from South and North (The names were oft fictitious) Came pleas galore to Vergie’s door, ER long the dame, the very same From nouveaux riches ambitious. Whom none had wished to know, Had got the hunch and caught the bunch, She now was comme il faut. st Vergie: “No, I can’t, although I know I'd earn a pile; Your offer fine I must decline— I am too ver-sa-tile!” 29 comichooks.Goin) "