Judge, 1927-01-01 · page 22 of 36
Judge — January 1, 1927 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct satirical pieces: **"An Age-old Mystery"** (main text): A humorous complaint by James L. Dilley about his wife's obsession with antiques. The joke is that she collects only *claimed* historical relics—furniture allegedly owned by famous figures (Napoleon, Martha Washington, John Paul Jones, etc.)—creating an uncomfortable home. The punchline: despite his gift of a new hat, she rejects it as "last season's vintage" and beats him with a rolling-pin supposedly used by King Alexander the Great. The satire targets both antique-collecting mania and the absurdity of unverifiable historical "authenticity." **Top cartoon**: Shows an airplane receiving a traffic summons, satirizing new aerial traffic laws as authorities attempted to regulate early aviation. **Bottom cartoon**: Depicts an ornate "Howdah" (howdak) town car—a vehicle styled as an elephant carriage—mocking orientalist luxury trends and automobiles designed to mimic exotic aesthetics. Both address early 20th-century American consumer culture and fads.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
An Age-old Mystery CAN’? understand it. She had always loved antiques and in fact the collection of junk had become quite an obsession. In the evenings I was forced to sit on a gnarled, ugly, torturous chair that iginally graced the cabin of Cap- tain Miles Standish. The only light on my evening newspaper emanated from a sputtering coal-oil lantern that once hung in the stateroom of John Paul Jones. Our only recrea- tion was music from a crumbling pianoforte originally played by Martha Washington. Dinner was announced each evening by means of Aerial traffic violator receives a summons. a thunderous gong which in its in- fancy had graced the Oriental dwell- ing of Confucious. When I walked across the room I would invariably catch my foot in one of the many gaping holes in a rug that had only partially withstood the heavy tread of poleon Bonaparte. Dinner was served in crockery that once adorned the festal board of Lord Cornwallis. Apart from a creaking table that once served Benjamin Franklin, the only adornment in our dining-room was a cabinet, guaran- teed to be Duncan Phyfe’s first effort. One would never deny the truth of that guarante But, as I said to begin with, I can’t understand it. I bought her a hat last week that looked like a beauty to me. Her keen eye perceived that it was of last season’s vintage. When I gave it to her she cracked me over the head with a rolling-pin that had once rolled out pie dough for the gourmandic edification of King Alexander the Great. James L. Dilley ceey Every time our Congressman opens his mouth he steps on the gas. The “Howdak” town car is the last word in oriental luxury and splendor. comicbooks.com