Judge, 1923-02-03 · page 12 of 36
Judge — February 3, 1923 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Kings in Cages: Satire on Wildlife Photography This piece satirizes the emerging trend of wildlife photography and the romanticization of "taming" wild animals through civilization and tourism. The main illustration shows a fierce lion's head. The accompanying text, attributed to an explorer returning from Africa with a "pocket kodak" (portable camera), describes pursuing a wild lion to photograph it—getting progressively closer, wanting detailed shots of its teeth and head, treating the dangerous animal as a subject to be captured rather than respected. The satire cuts two ways: it mocks both the foolhardy adventurer-photographer willing to endanger himself for the "perfect shot," and the broader cultural phenomenon where wild animals lose their wildness through human intrusion (hunting expeditions, circuses, photography). The caption "We have nothing but respect for all lions. Their patience is monumental" is ironic—the lions' "patience" means their submission to human encroachment. The secondary sketches appear to contrast wild and domestic animals, reinforcing the theme of civilization's conquest over nature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Kings in Cages By Hrywoop Broun Sketches by WEED ILD ANIMALS don’t sec be as wild as. the were in the old day The advent of the hunter arm with nothing but a camera ap. pears to have calmed then After all, who wouldn't be wild if excursion parties pursued ther and constantly interrupted the ‘y with rifle shooting? I: there have been lions who a -d their jungles a agements with circuses just for the peace and quiet All that, we understand, has changed vei largely. Our s from an explorer who has just returned after de astating darkest Africa with pocket kodak. “One ternoon,” he saiv “when the light was perfect, I had the good fortune to come face to face with a monster lion in tl center of a clearing in the jungl T had just slipped a new roll of film into my camera and you cai my delight at finding \ me with a lion under such propitious — circumstances When I first: spied him he was almost fifty yards away, and | never get the best results at so £ a distance. rtunately, he caught sight of me and approached very rapidly T snapped him once or twice as he leaped ahead with yg bounds covering nine or ten vards We have nothing but re- with ev hop. But) what spect for all lions. Their wanted was a somewhat mor: patience is monumental. detailed study of the head, whict was the most magnificent I have ever seen. Moreover his mout! was open and I realized that ther: was a great chance for me to get « picture showing teeth and all only he came close enough. Common or alley variety of feline thoroughly domesti-kittyed. Clive Weed sketches while the monkey shines. comichooks.coun