Judge, 1928-02-11 · page 35 of 36
Judge — February 11, 1928 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page satirizes the social friction caused by bridge—the card game that was enormously popular among upper-class Americans in the early 20th century. The cartoon depicts "Lord Batten Batten" staying out late specifically to avoid his wife's bridge party at home. The satire's premise: non-bridge players are social liabilities who cause marital discord. The text humorously escalates this, claiming bridge non-players account for over 43% of divorces west of the Mississippi. The joke mocks both the obsessive social dominance of bridge and the anxiety it created among those who didn't play. Judge then launches a "Bridge Contest" (essentially a subscription pitch), advertising it as a solution to the "bridge problem"—though the contest deliberately won't explain actual bridge rules, making the self-aware satire complete. It's commentary on how a leisure activity became socially mandatory among the elite.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Waiter: You're staying late tonight, Lord Batten Batten. Lorp B: Yes; my wife is having a jolly bridge party. Jolly hang it. This conversation, although expressed in Eng- lish dialect, is typical of the little misfortunes that occur in our best families as well as Cin- cinnati. How many husbands have fallen into these shiftless habits, those little habits that in the mel- low glow of old age incubate dope addicts and axe murderers? Can you carry your own when your wife en- tertains, or must you slip off to some lonesome deserted room to brood miserably while the gay friends of your family chatter and make merry over the tea cups in your own home, simply because you don’t play bridge, or chew gum, or run the 440. Anyway, now that Jupce has completed its study of domestic difficulty we know that non- bridge players are responsible for 4314% of the divorces that take place in all states west of the Mississippi, including Saturday afternoons. Of course we can’t let this go on. Beginning with this issue, the big new Bridge Contest will bring peace and understanding to those who have worried over the bridge problem. Do you know when to (a) Trump your partner's ace? (b) Play from the dummy, when you have lost the bid? (c) Shuffle the cards with your left hand? All these and hundreds of other things will remain unexplained in the forth-coming Dridge Contest. Send us money and the coupon, and you have no idea how quickly you'll get the new issues of JUDGE 627 W. 43rd St, New York City. Gentlemen: 1) play bridge. Iam anxious to see your test issues, and I enclose $5.00 for 1 year. $7.00 for 2 years. comicbooks.com