Judge, 1922-02-11 · page 14 of 36
Judge — February 11, 1922 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical cartoon about class and regional identity in early 20th-century America. An older fisherman (likely from a coastal New England community) advises his companion Mary that when she goes to fancy New York restaurants, she should order codfish—a humble, local catch. The humor and social commentary lie in the contrast: the fisherman hopes Mary will remember her working-class roots and support her home community's industry, even while enjoying the "swell eating houses" of wealthy urban society. The satire gently mocks both the pretensions of fancy city dining and the fisherman's touching faith that wealthy urbanites might sentimentally maintain ties to humble provincial labor. It reflects tensions between rural/coastal working communities and cosmopolitan urban culture in the period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Fisherman—I hope, Mary, when ye git to New York an’ go into them swell eatin’ houses ye'll sometimes order codfish. It'll make ye sorter feel ye’re doin’ suthin’ fer th’ folks back home. 12