Judge — February 28, 1920

# Analysis This page is predominantly **advertising**, not satire or political commentary. The main content promotes a 12-volume encyclopedia set titled "Famous Men and Women of History: Remarkable Characters All," published by Brunswick Subscription Company, priced at $1.00 with coupon. The left side features an illustration labeled "Genghis Khan and Queen Khatun" drawn by J.E. Allen. The advertisement emphasizes historical figures like Julius Caesar, Queen Elizabeth, Alfred the Great, and Cleopatra, marketed as educational material featuring "real life" stories that are "stranger than fiction." The page represents early 20th-century direct-mail marketing targeting middle-class readers seeking self-improvement through historical knowledge—a common advertising approach in Judge magazine during this period.

# "Sunday Evening at Mrs. Futleigh's" This is a social satire cartoon from *Judge* magazine (February 28, 1920) depicting a wealthy drawing-room gathering. The caption and dialogue mock upper-class pretension: - A woman asks about an absent guest: "She quit the Follies, you know; she's not playing at present" - Response: "Oh, and hasn't she anything in view?" - Punchline: "Well, yes, but not as much as she had in the show" The joke targets both the social climbing of entertainment industry figures and the voyeuristic nature of theatrical performance—suggesting that a performer's stage costumes (or lack thereof) were her primary claim to status. It's satirizing how wealthy society both judges and secretly admires performers, particularly showgirls known for revealing costumes.

# Day Dreams This page, titled "Day Dreams" and drawn by Walter De Maris, presents four satirical vignettes exploring fantasies and wishful thinking. The cartoons appear to depict: - **Top left**: A figure daydreaming of performing acrobatics - **Top right**: Someone imagining a sleigh ride through winter scenery - **Bottom left**: A person at a window, possibly fantasizing about escape or romance - **Bottom right**: A figure in tropical or exotic surroundings, suggesting dreams of adventure The overall theme mocks the gap between mundane reality and people's imaginative desires—a common Judge magazine subject. Without additional context about specific 1890s-era events or figures, the humor seems to target universal human tendency toward escapist fantasizing rather than particular political or social commentary.

# "The Log of a Lost Soul" - Judge Magazine Satire This appears to be a serialized story rather than a traditional political cartoon. The illustration shows a domestic scene with a woman operating what appears to be modern plumbing ("No Cooking" sign visible), contrasting with an older woman at right, likely depicting generational differences in household management. The narrative, attributed to Ellis Parker Butler, presents a satirical first-person account from a man released from a "Psychopathic Hospital" after two years of confinement for alcoholism. His diary entries chronicle increasing despair about Prohibition ("this entire nation has gone dry"), his lost love, and his ship's voyage, conveying dark humor about temperance laws and their social consequences. The satire targets Prohibition's impact on American life and morality during the 1919-1920 period.

This page contains a narrative diary excerpt (dated June 1910) describing a shipwreck and survival at sea, illustrated with two black-and-white drawings. The text recounts the sinking of a vessel called the *Gamd*, the crew's ordeal in lifeboats, and encounters with Russian sailors. One illustration shows two figures in a ship's cabin; the other depicts someone in a small boat. This appears to be **not political satire but rather adventure fiction or reportage**—a dramatic true-or-fictionalized account of maritime disaster. The page functions as serialized entertainment content rather than the satirical political cartoons Judge magazine was known for. There are no evident caricatures, political figures, or social commentary visible.

# Analysis: "The Royal Wrapper" The main satire criticizes wealthy foreign visitors—particularly European royalty visiting America—for inadvertently causing economic chaos through fashion imitation. When the Queen of the Belgians wore a gold-cloth turban, American society women immediately copied it, forcing husbands to pay for expensive new clothing. The Prince of Wales similarly triggered fashion trends. The cartoon's point: America's wealthy are obsessively status-conscious and financially reckless, bankrupting families by chasing royal fashions. The accompanying illustration (drawn by Lisle Campbell) depicts a waiter taking an order, supporting the theme of social anxiety and pretension among the American upper class. The satire targets American materialism and class anxiety rather than foreign visitors directly—mocking how desperate Americans are to emulate perceived sophistication, regardless of cost. The "free country" opening is ironic: we're free, yet enslaved to fashion trends set by visitors.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This satirical page contains three distinct pieces mocking early 20th-century American trends and attitudes: **"The New Era"** (top): Satirizes how women blindly adopt fashions inspired by celebrity visitors. When Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck's play *The Blue Bird* premiered in America, women obsessively purchased blue-bird embroidered lingerie and accessories. The satire suggests this creates financial strain on husbands ("father will have to play the rôle of a very blue old bird"). The proposed solution—forcing distinguished visitors to dress plainly—humorously exaggerates the problem's perceived severity. **"William Highpocket" dialogue**: A rural character reports his three sons returning from World War I now pursue modern working-class careers (railroader, coal miner, longshoreman) rather than traditional professions (law, medicine, clergy). The store-keeper's amazement at these "perfessions" reflects changing post-war labor and social attitudes. **"Just a Bit"**: A quick joke about Jackson's extreme slowness—so slow that an elephant could bathe while he washes his face. The page satirizes both frivolous fashion trends and evolving post-war social expectations.

# "Billy" by Wat S. Adkins — Page Analysis This is a short story with illustrations rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a bohemian artist's studio gathering in early 20th-century America, satirizing artistic society's attitudes toward romance and propriety. **The figures:** William Forrest ("Billy"), a 44-year-old artist who hosts gatherings; an unnamed female visitor described as charming and flirtatious. **The social commentary:** The story gently mocks the pretensions of artistic circles where smoking women, casual kissing, and unconventional behavior are tolerated, yet Billy himself—despite his sophisticated milieu—remains emotionally detached from romance, devoted only to his work. **The joke's point:** The irony that someone surrounded by bohemian freedom and admiring women has never actually loved anyone, suggesting that artistic devotion can be an excuse for emotional unavailability or that even "liberated" society cannot resolve fundamental human isolation.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains two distinct pieces of satirical content: **"Co-Education"** (left cartoon): The illustration shows two young people at what appears to be a "Wanted" poster or advertisement. The accompanying text depicts a romantic conflict where Billy and his girlfriend struggle with commitment anxieties about marriage. The satire targets young romance and the anxieties surrounding early 20th-century courtship—particularly the tension between desire for constant companionship and the practical realities of adult responsibility. The "co-education" title likely references the then-controversial practice of men and women studying together, implying social mixing leads to romantic entanglement. **"The Silver Lining"** (right): A humorous monologue where Gap Johnson catalogs his family's recent disasters—children injured, animals sick, property damage—yet maintains optimism because a visiting relative brought whiskey. The satire mocks rural poor and their stoicism in the face of hardship, while the "silver lining" joke hinges on alcohol providing the sole comfort amid genuine misery. Both pieces reflect Judge's focus on domestic life and social class commentary.

# "Town Pride" - A Satire on Municipal Improvement This is a humorous article-and-cartoon by Walt Mason, illustrated by Ralph Barton, mocking small-town civic boosterism. The cartoon shows a man kicking a reluctant, overstuffed figure into a wheelbarrow labeled "To the Town Dump." The satire targets the obsessive drive to improve one's town for appearances and pride. Mason's poem ironically advocates building a grand municipal dump as the solution to town improvement—then humorously expands the concept to include disposing of undesirable *people*: the pessimistic "gent who denounces things as vain," the old-fashioned curmudgeon clinging to bygone days, and crucially, "the man who thinks sorrow is in style"—the chronic complainer and "grouch." The joke is that towns waste energy removing garbage and people they deem unpleasant rather than addressing actual problems. It's gentle social commentary on small-town conformity and the arbitrary standards of respectability.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains three distinct items: a domestic comedy essay, a social satire piece, and a contest announcement. ## "My Husband" (by Eugene Lockhart) A wife humorously complains that her clever husband—respected for his broad views and intellectual remarks—keeps her perpetually busy. She must constantly condense complex philosophical topics (Marcus Aurelius, Ibsen) into five-minute discussions, leaving no time for leisure activities like bridge or lunch. The satire targets pretentious intellectualism and the exhausting demands of verbose husbands who perform their cleverness socially. ## "Practically Synonymous" (by Gelett Burgess) This piece mocks the American obsession with adopting fancy, foreign-sounding names for ordinary things. Wealthy people and even circus performers adopt grandiose titles—"Flormaudes," "Mademoiselle Francescaballo"—to appear cultured and aristocratic, even when earning modest wages. The satire ridicules social pretension and the gap between actual circumstance and affected appearance. The cartoon illustration appears to show a police officer and civilian interaction, though context is unclear.

# "Revenge" by Arthur Guiterman This is a satirical poem about the narrator's elaborate revenge against an annoying rival—a loud, tactless man who steals his belongings, interrupts his tennis game, spoils his stories, and fatally sneezed during a crucial golf putt. The revenge scheme includes hiring brass bands to play outside his door, arranging for stray dogs to be advertised under his name, and calling him while bathing. The joke's twist: the scheme works *too well*—it drives the man insane. But the narrator discovers insanity has freed him from modern anxieties (taxes, the League of Nations, cost of living). The moral: thoughts shape reality, so the "wretch" now enjoys a pleasant delusion of billionaire wealth. The surrounding content includes "National Pastimes" (satirizing post-WWI nations' activities) and a joke about a grocer recommending canned beef having eaten only that for two years—likely mocking American soldier rations or post-war food scarcity.