Judge, 1921-08-27 · page 3 of 36
Judge — August 27, 1921 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Cartoon Analysis: "Mansion House" (Judge, August 27, 1921) This cartoon depicts a well-dressed man at a mansion house entrance speaking to a working-class visitor. The dialogue reveals the joke's target: the man boasts of having a "portmanteau" (suitcase) from the office and asks if there's "a decent cinema in this rally parish." The satire mocks the pretensions of someone trying to appear wealthy and cultured—he uses fancy vocabulary ("portmanteau," "cinema," "parish") while discussing mundane matters (fetching luggage, filling a car with petrol). The humor lies in this clash between affected speech and ordinary circumstances, suggesting social climbing or false gentility among the aspiring middle class during the 1920s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE “THE HAPPY MEDIUM” VOLUME 81 New York, Acov NUMBER 2078 $7.00 A YEAR New Yors, AvGust 27, 1921 15 CENTS 4 Copy Joaren, or flarss Drawn by Waiter DEMARIS. “My GOOD FELLOW, YOU MAY FETCH MY PORTMANTEAU FROM THE OFFICE, AND FILL MY CAR WITH PETROL; AND I SAY, IS THERE A DECENT CINEMA IN THIS BALLY PARISH ?” 3