Judge — May 1, 1926 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page collects jokes from theatrical performances, a common Judge magazine feature. The top panel shows two well-dressed men discussing losing a girlfriend by "turning her back into circulation"—a cynical joke about treating women as interchangeable commodities. The middle panels present vaudeville-style humor: one depicts "the old family rake" (a dissolute relative) as a clichéd theatrical character; another jokes about "Sunny," a sword-swallowing circus act who survives only on "pins 'n' needles." The bottom panels reference stage stereotypes—a family known for perpetual practical jokes, and "the famous two other fellas," apparently a recurring comedy duo whose sole notable appearance was on stage. The satire targets theatrical clichés and the tired material recycled nightly in vaudeville and stage shows—suggesting that these jokes represent the exhausted, formulaic comedy of early 20th-century popular entertainment.