Judge, 1927-11-19 · page 16 of 36
Judge — November 19, 1927 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the absurdity of keeping exotic animals as household pets in urban apartments. The main cartoon features a moose named Randolph from Bangor, Maine, who accidentally killed his pet skylark Lucie during a dice game dispute—a darkly humorous cautionary tale about the dangers of wild animal companionship. The accompanying text mocks the financial logic of elephant ownership, arguing that an $800 elephant "pays for itself" in thirteen years by serving as an ashtray (the "poetical contribution"). The satire culminates in a pragmatic conclusion: yes, keeping elephants in apartments has drawbacks, but "this sort of thing can't happen every day." The humor relies on treating absurd premises (elephants in apartments, financial justifications for exotic pets) with mock-serious reasoning—typical Judge magazine style. Dr. Theophrastus Seuss (likely pseudonymous) frames the entire department as naturalist advice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE BOIDSAND BEAST (A Department for Indefatigable Naturalists, Con- ae by the Eminent Dr. Theophrastus Seuss.) Poetical Contribution itney Campbell, well-known elephant fancier of Cambridge, Mass., offers this little gem. He wrote it himself. “I have a little elephant T would not do without. For when my ashes get too long I stuff them in his snout.” Who Is This Morose Little Rascal? It is Randolph of Bangor, Me. And why is Randolph so sad? My friends, you, too, would be sad if you just killed your best little playmate. r five years Randolph had been an inse| able pal and companion to Lucie, the skylark from across the avenue. T gether and hand in hand they took long, pleasant walks into the country, sang expurgated kindergarten ditties, roller-skated down the boulevards and played at poker dice One day Randolph suspected Lucie of ringing in a pair of loaded dice. In a burst of anger, he buffeted her on the button. She died, leaving three eggs. Throw away your Sel boys! Did you ever stop t every bottle of fizz quarter, and th his drinking er Bottles, realize that vou buy costs over a man in the prime of r purchases over 300 bottles a y even dollars and fifty cents every twelve months! Now then, how much is an elephant? Only eight hundred dollars! Ina little over a hun- dred years the elephant PAYS FOR HIMSELF To be sure, elephant keeping in a small apartment has its drawbacks. But, after all, this sort of thing can’t happen every day in the week. 4 comicbooks.com