Judge — December 16, 1922 — page 22: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1922 calendar page satirizes wealthy American men's winter habits. The central figure—a rotund, cigar-smoking gentleman in formal wear—represents the affluent patriarch who abandons his family for warm-weather vacations. The vignettes mock various leisure pursuits and conspicuous consumption: "vulgar display of wealth," yacht sailing, real estate speculation, and golf. References include Washington's naval preparedness debates and Indiana's admission to the Union (unclear context). The satire targets the disconnect between fathers' extravagant southern escapes and domestic responsibilities—note "Merry Merry X-Mas" and holiday imagery appearing while dad is absent. The phrase "goes south" carries double meaning: literal travel and the condition of family finances or morality during his absence. Judge magazine uses this calendar format to chronicle upper-class hypocrisy and self-indulgence during the prosperous 1920s.