Judge, 1926-07-31 · page 17 of 36
Judge — July 31, 1926 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous one-page cartoon that parodies famous historical and mythological events through the lens of bathing/swimming. Each panel reimagines a well-known story: 1. **Pharaoh's daughter** retrieves baby Moses from the water 2. **David** shows off to Goliath by diving ("gazzing coast guard Goliath") 3. **Cleopatra** earns her "Serpent of the Nile" nickname through aquatic antics with friends 4. **Leander** struggles attempting to swim across water 5. **Anne Boleyn** (Mrs. Henry VIII) loses her head for having humor The satire jokes that serious historical figures are reduced to bathing/swimming scenarios—treating grand historical narratives as trivial beach activities. It's gentle mockery of how classical education gets simplified and feminized through the "bathing girl" framework, popular in early 20th-century leisure culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE BATHING GIRL’S OUTLINE OF HISTORY Cleopatra, with the aid of a couple of girl friends, shows Antony how she got her nickname o ee OS Leander weakens in his try for the raft and Mrs. Henry VIII gets the ax merely for having a sense of humor! comicbooks.com