Judge — May 8, 1926 — page 35: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a reader-participation contest page from Judge magazine. The three comic panels show a recurring scenario: characters in striped clothing and top hats interacting with tree trunks that have large knotholes serving as faces. The setup appears to be slapstick physical comedy—the characters are climbing, chopping, or otherwise engaging with these anthropomorphized trees. Judge invited readers to submit humorous final panels to complete the strip, offering $25 for the funniest conclusion. The cartoons rely on visual gags and exaggerated character expressions typical of early-to-mid 20th century American humor. The specific identities of the characters are unclear from the image alone, though their formal dress (top hats, striped suits) suggests they may represent generic "everyman" figures or social types common to period satire. This was a common magazine feature—crowdsourcing comic endings allowed Judge to engage readers directly while filling space affordably.