Judge — January 9, 1926 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Judge" Magazine - January 9, 1926 **"Seven Baldpates to a Key-Hole"** This cartoon satirizes Prohibition-era speakeasy culture. The image shows seven bald men peering through a keyhole at what appears to be an illegal drinking establishment (indicated by the "JUDGE" masthead styled as "UDGE" with a keyhole design above). The phrase "seven baldpates" is a humorous, dehumanizing reference to the men as interchangeable figures—their baldness emphasizing their sameness. The joke mocks both Prohibition enforcement efforts and the public's obsessive curiosity about illegal speakeasies during the 1920s. It suggests widespread, undiscriminating interest in underground bars, treating participants as ridiculous voyeurs rather than serious criminals or libertines.