Judge, 1929-12-28 · page 8 of 37
Judge — December 28, 1929 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains a story titled "Bleak House" and a cartoon about St. Nick (Santa Claus). **The Story:** A man describes visiting a broker's office, finding it depressingly gloomy. He reflects on how servants leaving good positions and modern domestic instability—young married women divorcing, mothers managing households alone—have made homes bleaker. He's bored by an "old story" about tenants not paying rent. **The Cartoon:** Depicts St. Nick struggling through a chaotic, noisy city street filled with traffic, horns, and crowds on December 26th. The caption jokes that Santa "didn't get around till December Twenty-sixth." **The Satire:** Both pieces critique modern urban/domestic life as increasingly dysfunctional—servants abandoning households, family instability, and city congestion making even Christmas deliveries impossible. The humor targets early 20th-century anxieties about societal decline and modern chaos disrupting tradition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
I" JUDGE Bleak House He looked ghastly. It seemed to as though he were a man who had that. And besides, I had to see my broker. So I said: “See here, old chap, don’t let of yourself com- d upon svervthtag. evil wed vot: pletely. Many a man’s in the same i ing good. Of course, he might have position you are. Now, take a brace, ] had a hangover—you never can tell. ther, and it's all going to | “Look at that house,” he said. dye did. It way commonplace enough. He stared at me queerly. “Lord, It shouldn't have had such an effect. he sald; Lmonot their father; J's “That house,” he said, “is a slecping thefr landlord! . shell. A never-waking sort of thit —Datio Se Teeiaan | constantly dreaming. Dreaming night “What'll we do with that roast beef }} ‘The ‘man's. tone wade ie sludaee. and soup and potatoes and stuff that's i] I wondered if he were haunte left over, Nick? ‘Give ‘em hash i “Even the maids have again: . a i mumbled. “They were ‘ “Of course we are happy to ex- “Better not, Joe, ‘The public is get- Hi They wouldn't hav change any Xmas gift purchased ting kinda tired of mergers.” ‘| were sane....” here. Do you remember what Hit iat wasmie as baat uifouelt. Christmas i vcac?™ Modern science ean go on remox | Maids leave good places nowadays. anclent prejudices; y | } “The youngsters have gone to not pleasant, but it is modern, Aman if We'll eat spinach, and that’s final. ‘| school. The young married girl is can’t go to sced just because his house i getting her divorce, and the husband — has. Then there's the bootlegger who | is trting to drown his sorrow. The “The eldest son never comes here went over ra with a barrel. | mother shops all morning, plays bridge any more cither. It's the office, then j all afternoon, and goes everywhere at the club, then the town, Why, nobody And only 362 days before we'll j night... .” even thinks of the rent.” have to read Christmas necktie jokes | | Neither was that extraordinary. It’s I was getting bored. An old story, — again. ' } | | | | i} dy ey | Hil { | | t | | | Ht | hi | ij | | ! | | ah | Why | | Tia | q ! ae Why St. Nick didn’t get around till December Twenty-sizth. ag 6 ahi } comicbooks.com