Judge — September 11, 1920 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Seeing How the Other Half Lives" This Judge magazine cover from September 11, 1920 shows a wealthy couple in an open-air automobile touring past tenement buildings in a poor neighborhood. The title "Seeing How the Other Half Lives" references the famous 1890 Jacob Riis exposé documenting urban poverty. The satire is straightforward: the wealthy are sightseeing through slums as entertainment or curiosity, treating poverty as a spectacle rather than a serious social problem. Their casual, leisurely automobile ride contrasts sharply with the decrepit architecture behind them. The cartoon mocks both the indifference of the rich toward urban inequality and the patronizing attitude of treating poverty as an exotic attraction worthy of a Sunday drive.