Puck — August 27, 1879 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Puck page satirizes business manipulation through six cartoon vignettes. The top panels mock advertising schemes: one shows figures planning to "wage war against the Jews" while promoting a Women's Hotel, suggesting merchants exploit social prejudice for profit. The cathedral dedication panel depicts clergymen celebrating a new carpet installation while claiming to "dedicate your empty crypt"—mocking religious institutions' focus on material gain. The bottom panels show a con artist with a sign demanding "$150,000" from Montreal, claiming goods are in a "fine pickle," suggesting business scams and settlement schemes. Overall, the cartoons critique how merchants, clergy, and swindlers use social anxieties and false promises to manipulate customers and extract money, with the title "Advertising Dodge" emphasizing deceptive marketing tactics.