Judge — May 9, 1925 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a skeletal, grotesque figure in 18th-century dress (tricorn hat, ornate coat) holding a skeleton key and a wine glass, standing before a cityscape of bottles. The title "The Key to the City" is a play on the formal honor of receiving a city's symbolic key. The satire appears to critique alcohol consumption and urban vice. The figure—likely representing either a drunkard, a corrupt politician, or personified Alcohol itself—has literally been given access ("the key") to the city. The skeletal imagery suggests death, decay, and moral corruption. The background of bottles emphasizes alcohol's pervasive presence. This likely comments on Prohibition-era debates or urban corruption tied to the liquor trade, presenting alcohol as the true authority controlling city affairs.