Judge — October 29, 1921 — page 17: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes newly wealthy individuals and their pretensions. A man identified as "our latest millionaire" instructs his wife to ensure both footmen are positioned to open the door—an ostentatious display of servants and status. The humor lies in the absurd excess: hiring two footmen merely to open a door for a business dinner guest demonstrates the character's insecurity about his newfound wealth and his need to publicly display it through elaborate, unnecessary ceremony. The satire targets the gauche materialism of the nouveau riche—those who've recently acquired money but lack established refinement. Judge magazine regularly mocked this social climbing and conspicuous consumption among the newly wealthy during the Gilded Age, suggesting that true gentility requires restraint rather than theatrical displays of household staff.