Judge, 1927-05-21 · page 11 of 36
Judge — May 21, 1927 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains satirical content mocking early 20th-century American reading habits and social conventions. **Main Story ("Dr. Lavender")**: A humorous narrative about a doctor who literally becomes ill—progressively feverish and weak—while reading the Sunday newspaper from beginning to end. The joke escalates darkly: by 8:15 PM, he's dead. The punchline: he died immediately after glancing at the "Comics" section, suggesting the comics are so terrible they're lethal. This satirizes both newspaper addiction and the low regard for comic strips. **Fashion Cartoon (top right)**: Depicts women in 1920s-style clothing, titled "Humanitarian move by the ladies, to save the manhood of the nation from becoming round-shouldered"—satirizing how women's fashion (tight dresses, restrictive garments) supposedly affects men's posture. **Bottom Cartoon**: A domestic scene where a mother criticizes her daughter's messy hair, with a poem about God's creation, absurdly ending by questioning why pajamas ride up during sleep—mild absurdist humor. Overall, the page satirizes contemporary anxieties about reading habits, fashion, and domestic life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
to suck an orange. His tempera- ture is slightly abnormal, so the icians report. He starts the Theatrical Section—trying to i the caricature of Mrs. Mrs. Lavender is al- in the study for a few minutes. Dr. Lavender only frowns at her. One of the Judges refuses to let him turn to the Sports Section until he has read the review of “Abie’s Irish Rose.” 2.00 P.M. One of the Seconds is now turning the pages for the Doctor. The Physicians report a temperature of 101. The Doctor calls for his other pair of glasses before beginning the Book Re- : 00. The Doctor's brothers and sisters are sent for. He is beginning the Real Estate and Automobile Section. One of the Judges goes into a trance. Two of Dr. Lavender’s seconds faint. The Doctor is induced to take a bit of nourishment through a straw. He has forsaken his chair for the bed. 8.00. The Doctor is in a state of Coma. Temperature 104. His seconds are rubbing his arms and legs. He is given a stimulant. After working on him for thirty minutes he comes to. slightly— and asks for the last section of the paper. 8.15. Dr. Lavender is dead! After no more than a glance at the last section of the paper. It was the “Comics.” —W. Marvin McCutroven Humanitarian move by the ladies, to save the manhood of the nation from becoming round-shouldered. Oh, Lord, who maketh here below, All that ereep and crawl, Enlighten one who wants to know: Wherefore Thou made’st them all? The bird, the beast, the fish—and man— Were placed upon this earth; Each creeping thing is, by Your plan, Created for some worth. If everything that crawls or creeps Has some excuse, then, please, Why do pajamas, when one sleeps, Mama—Agnes! Your hair looks like a reg’lar dish mop! Crawl up above the knees? eh? What’s a dish mop?” —Gronce E. Haar comicbooks.com