Judge, 1925-02-07 · page 9 of 36
Judge — February 7, 1925 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes cultural ignorance and literary illiteracy among contemporary readers. The main article "I Know a Man" (attributed to Chet Johnson) mocks someone who confuses classic literature titles with trivial entertainments—mistaking "The Deserted Village" for a Scottish town, "The Merchant of Venice" for a hot dog stand, and "Paradise Lost" for a movie about free love. The satire targets readers who pretend familiarity with canonical works without actually reading them, and who prefer popular entertainers like Irvin Cobb to serious literature. The accompanying cartoons present light humor: a church architectural comparison showing its declining social centrality, a spelling joke about scandalous gossip, and motorist "safety tips" that are intentionally ridiculous (chaining up after drinking, keeping radiators in bed). The overall message critiques middlebrow American culture of the era—people adopting sophisticated pretenses while remaining fundamentally uncultured.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
I Know a Man (Apologies to Carroll) £ tHInks “The Deserted Vil- la is a Scotch town on tag day. He is sure “The Merchant of Venice” sells peanuts or hot dogs at a beach resort near Los Angeles. He has never read “David Harum” because he doesn’t care for that Turkish sex stuff. He says “The Four Horsemen” is nothing but propaganda for the cavalry recruiting service, although admitting he has never read it “IL Penseroso,” he thinks, sounds like one of the snappiest. things Ibanez ever wrote and he is sure going to read it as soon as it’s trans- lated into English. He alway’s tells you Irvin Cobb can write even better than he can play baseball. He says anybody can tell from its name that “Paradise Lost’ is just another one of those free love stories written for the movies. Chet Johnson toe “That's the bee’s knees,” said the professor as he squinted through the microscope. “Maw's a widow Cosmopolitan his head!” THE POSITION As it used to be— Lo-u-s! OF THE CHURCH and to-day. Littte Joan (nonchalantly) —There's only one * CaLier (who has been painstakingly spelling out words)—The story T heard about Miss B-i-n-k-s and the M-a-j-o-r is even more s-c-a-n-d-a-l- "in “seandalous.” Hints for Motorists Pt on your chains after the rst pint. In running over a_ pedestrian always be sure the wheels do not pass over his hip pockets; this will prevent punctures. ‘o keep the radiator from freez- ing, take it to bed with you on cold nights Never back out of the garage without first opening the door. If you want a good finish for your car stall it on any railroad crossing. ~ \Eunnybon He named her Prescription be- cause she was 80 hard to get filled. anaes Bw, comicbooks.com