Judge — May 31, 1930 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Cartoon This is a single-panel cartoon titled "JUDGE" depicting a domestic humor scene. An adult man with a prominent beard is shown with two young boys in what appears to be a modest home. One boy is asking to borrow a "moustache cup" for an expected visitor. A moustache cup was a practical Victorian-era drinking vessel with an interior guard to protect a man's facial hair from getting wet. The humor relies on the contrast between the father's obvious, impressive beard and the need to borrow such a cup—suggesting either vanity, a social-climbing desire to appear refined, or the family's modest circumstances requiring them to borrow items for entertaining guests. The satirical target appears to be working-class pretension or the aspirations of ordinary people attempting to present themselves as more genteel than their circumstances warrant.