Judge — June 2, 1928 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes wealthy, sophisticated socialites of the 1920s Jazz Age. The central figure is a debutante who "came out in 1924" but "hasn't been home since"—mocking the lifestyle of idle aristocratic women who party constantly rather than settle into domestic life. The surrounding vignettes ridicule upper-class pretensions: men discuss cocktail recipes (Bacardi rum), betting on horses, and Harvard credentials. The final panel jokes that someone "graduated from Harvard with many degrees" yet has a dangerously high fever (103°F), suggesting their education produced nothing of practical value. The satire targets the frivolous, pleasure-seeking behavior of the wealthy elite during Prohibition and the Jazz Age, when cocktails, parties, and conspicuous leisure defined high society. The artwork's caricatured style emphasizes the mockery of these figures' superficiality.