Judge — June 4, 1927 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This political cartoon satirizes an Ottoman Sultan character running to a delicatessen on Sunday night. The elaborate architectural setting—featuring minarets, mosques, and Middle Eastern design elements—contrasts sharply with the mundane errand of fetching food from a neighborhood delicatessen, a typical Jewish-American business. The joke appears to target the Sultan's dignity through this humorous juxtaposition: a powerful foreign ruler reduced to casual, everyday American consumer behavior. The "Sunday night" timing may reference Jewish observance patterns or general American weekend shopping habits. The cartoon likely reflects early 20th-century American attitudes toward both Ottoman leadership and immigrant communities, using ethnic caricature for comedic effect. Without clearer dating or additional context, the specific political reference remains unclear, though it may relate to Ottoman-American diplomatic relations of the era.