Judge, 1926-10-02 · page 10 of 36
Judge — October 2, 1926 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis: "The Last Pose of Summer" This satirical piece mocks the performative friendships formed at summer vacation resorts. The cartoon shows hotel guests exchanging elaborate, effusive farewells on the front porch—calling each other "dear," promising winter concerts and bridge clubs, exchanging kisses—while the caption's final line reveals the bitter truth: "they boarded the train for the city and passed out of each other's lives forever." The satire targets the shallow social rituals of the era's leisure class, who annually retreated to places like "Valley View House" and formed intense, temporary bonds they had no genuine intention of maintaining. The contrast between their flowery promises ("beautiful friendship," "Au revoir") and the cold reality of permanent separation exposes the hypocrisy of vacation-season sentimentality. The joke is that these elaborate goodbyes meant nothing—a commentary on superficial upper-class social conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
" eheveriee = S Serius, tah Aumas tn be 2 Cue to the Shation / The Last Pose of Summer (It is the front porch of the Valley View House, the day after Labor Day. The hotel is packing away the china and the guests are exchanging affec- tionate farewells. In the distance sounds the faint whistle of the 10.12 train, ready to take the rejuvenated racationists back to grim pavements and traffic jams.) “PRs summer has meant so much to me, Mrs. Pavit. It’s sim- ply wonderful how fate—you know, I believe in fate—can throw two people together with such similar tastes. We simply must keep up our friendship this winter. We'll go to the concerts together. I mean our cultural tastes are so much alike. Be sure to call me up as soon n as you reach town. Riverside § “Good-by, Hattie and Amanda. I shall miss you dear girls every House Bridge Club, so that we won’t lose our contact. We'll meet at each other’s houses every Thursday after- noon. My summer has been fuller and richer because of you girls. Iam sure this is the beginning of a beau- tiful friendship—(smack!) good-by. dears—(smack!) g-o0-0-d-b- “It's just been perfectly divine, Mrs. Rosenwasser. Mr. Fitzgerald and I want to see a good deal of you folks this winter. And you too, Mrs. Poponoff. Life is so full of lovely things—beautiful friendships and all that sort of thing. Be sure to look us up as soon as you get back. We'll be waiting to hear from you, now—(smack!) Au revoir.” And so, as the morning sun kissed the restless pines, they boarded the train for the city and passed out of each other's lives forever. Arthur L. Lippmann To-morrow KNOW that winter's coming, Summer's almost done, The autumn breeze s sighing, There’s less of glaring sun. I know that winter's coming Not very fz ‘ For I saw a Christmas number Of am 5 James A, Sanaker minute until you get back. I'm going to organize the Valley View Will it come to this? comicbooks.com