Judge, 1923-08-25 · page 24 of 36
Judge — August 25, 1923 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects several brief satirical jokes typical of early 20th-century humor magazines: **Top cartoon**: A vicar (Anglican priest) observes his congregation is neither poor nor rich—a joke about the middle-class respectability of his church. The punchline satirizes that church collections reveal economic reality: the poor can't afford to give much, the rich don't contribute generously. **Zebra joke**: A child's innocent question about what zebras do is answered with a pun—zebras "illustrate the letter Z"—typical wordplay humor of the era. **Burglar joke**: A man thanks his wife for saving him from robbery because she'd already emptied his pockets—darkly comic commentary on marital finances and nagging wives, a common trope. **Bottom image**: A photograph (not cartoon) showing phosphorus exhaust from night aviation—presented as visually spectacular, reflecting contemporary fascination with early aviation technology. The page demonstrates Judge's formula: mixing social commentary, puns, and contemporary marvel coverage for middle-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Visitor—But that must be impos- The Vicar—When I look at this congregation I ask myself sible. The town would have been “Where are the poor?” And when I look at the collection I say, wiped out if the water had gone that “Where are the rich?”—London Opinion. high! . Local Guide—Well, it used ter be down ’ere, but fellers were spoilin’ the plate by strikin’ matches on it, so I ‘ad it shifted up ‘igher!—Humorist (London). “What's this, uncle?” “That's a zebra.” “What does it do?” “Well—er—it’s principally used to illustrate the letter Z."—London Mail. “My wife saved me from being robbed last night.” “How was that?” “A burglar got in at the window and went through my pockets for my = money, but found none—my wife had SS been through them before him!”— The wonderful possib: ties of a phosphorus exhaust when flying Kasper (Stockholm). at night.—Passing Show (London). 22 comicbooks.com