A complete issue · 28 pages · 1916
Judge — July 22, 1916
# "Reddy Maid Suits" - Judge Magazine, July 22, 1916 This illustration by Mary Lane McMillon depicts three figures in swimwear sitting together on a beach, with shoes scattered below. The title "Reddy Maid Suits" appears to be a pun on a commercial product or brand name (likely "Ready-Made" suits). The satire likely comments on the then-controversial trend of women wearing practical, less-restrictive bathing costumes rather than the heavily layered Victorian alternatives. The composition—showing a woman confidently positioned between two men in casual beach attire—suggests commentary on changing gender relations and women's increasing social freedom in the 1910s. The joke plays on contemporary anxieties about modern women's independence and fashion choices becoming less modest and more utilitarian.
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page (July 22, 1916) This page is primarily **advertising and editorial content** rather than political cartoons. The main advertisement features "The New Ocean House" hotel at Swampscott, Massachusetts, promoting seaside leisure activities. Below that is a photo contest advertisement offering $25 prizes for readers' photographs, with Judge's editors as judges. The right side lists the magazine's **table of contents**, which includes humorous articles like "Ma's Ginger Cookies" and "The Comedy of Life in Pictures." One entry references "Judge's Foreign Humor, With the College Wits" — suggesting the magazine collected satirical content about contemporary life and education. The page reflects Judge's role as a **humor and satire publication** targeting middle-class leisure activities and social commentary of 1916.
# "Some Doings in Bugland" This is a satirical illustration titled "Some Doings in Bugland," depicting an anthropomorphized insect community engaged in various human activities and social behaviors. The cartoon uses insects as stand-ins for human society, a common Victorian-era satirical device. The dense, chaotic scene shows bugs engaged in multiple simultaneous activities—what appears to be commerce, entertainment, labor, and socializing. Various speech bubbles contain dialogue, though most are difficult to read clearly in this reproduction. The satire likely comments on human society's complexity, absurdity, or social hierarchies by portraying them through insects. This approach allowed Judge magazine to critique contemporary social conditions indirectly. Without clearer text, the specific targets of satire remain unclear, but the overall effect mocks human pretension and social organization.
