Judge — July 30, 1921

# Analysis This page is entirely an **advertisement for Film Fun magazine**, not political satire or a cartoon. It promotes the August issue of Film Fun, which was dedicated to humor about motion pictures. The ad emphasizes that 10 million Americans attended movies daily, and that Film Fun was the only magazine devoted to screen comedy. It highlights the magazine's features: approximately 50 photographs per issue, gossip about film "stars," writing by notable authors about cinema, and sophisticated humor. The advertisement positions Film Fun as appealing, accessible entertainment—neither "highbrow nor lowbrow; only just human and entertaining." The call-to-action urges readers to purchase the magazine at newsstands. There are no political cartoons, caricatures, or satirical commentary on this page—it is purely commercial promotion for a popular entertainment publication.

# "Still Waters" - Judge Magazine, July 30, 1921 This illustration by Walter De Maris depicts a fisherman casting his line into calm water near a waterfall, with trees framing the scene. The title "Still Waters" is a play on the proverb "still waters run deep," suggesting hidden depths or dangers beneath a placid surface. In the context of 1921 America—during Prohibition and a period of social anxiety—this likely carries satirical meaning about concealed wrongdoing or illicit activity hidden beneath outwardly respectable appearances. The "still waters" of American society may be masking criminal activity, corruption, or other social ills. The specific political target remains unclear from the image alone.

# Analysis This page features an illustration credited to "Penny Barlow" showing two silhouetted figures on a rocky cliff overlooking a dramatic landscape. The caption reads: "Yes, my dear, I do think that cerise suits your complexion better than purple." The satire appears to be visual rather than overtly political. The joke seems to rest on the absurd juxtaposition of polite, genteel fashion commentary ("cerise suits your complexion better than purple") in what appears to be a dramatic, perilous romantic scenario—two figures isolated on a dangerous cliff edge. The humor lies in maintaining superficial etiquette and concern with fashion colors even in an emotionally or physically charged moment. This reflects early 20th-century satirical commentary on the artificiality of upper-class social conventions and feminine preoccupations with appearance.

# Analysis of "Butter Late Than Never" **Main Content:** This is a humorous short story by John Chapman Hilder about a grocer's experience selling butter. The narrative involves a customer disputing the weight of butter purchased, leading to repeated trips to the scales with increasingly smaller portions added. The story is largely a comedic anecdote about retail commerce and customer dissatisfaction. **The Cartoons:** - The header illustration depicts a trespassing scene with a rural family, unrelated to the butter story - The lower illustration shows playing cards labeled "I Could Be Happy with Either One," likely a separate puzzle or game feature **Satire:** The story gently satirizes both penny-pinching customers and the patience required in retail work, reflecting early 20th-century grocery commerce frustrations rather than broader political commentary.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains two distinct pieces: **Top cartoon** (by Art Helfant, titled "Friend—Money Talks"): Shows well-dressed men discussing butter rationing or scarcity, likely referencing post-WWI food shortages or price controls. The humor centers on the absurdity of wealthy men unable to obtain basic groceries despite their means—satirizing how economic restrictions affected even the privileged. **Bottom cartoon** (by Paul Reilly): Two people on a beach with sea creatures. The caption "Pardon me, Madam, but—but—you must be one of those Mermaids" appears to be a pickup-line joke, playing on the woman's appearance or the absurdity of the situation. The right column contains poetry and short humor pieces unrelated to the cartoons. The satire reflects early 20th-century concerns about food scarcity and class divisions.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains three separate pieces of light satirical humor typical of Judge magazine: **"Ready for Big Game"** depicts a hotel proprietor and accomplice preparing a summer resort for guests—but the "game" is the guests themselves. The satire targets hospitality fraud: they're installing hidden supports under the roof, stakes in grass, netting over windows, and seaweed mattresses to trap unwary visitors into poor conditions while extracting money. The humor lies in the candid admission of deliberate deception. **"A Midsummer Knight's Dream"** (top illustration by Emmett Watson) shows a lifeguard at a beach station—likely satirizing the pretentiousness or ineffectiveness of such safety measures, though the specific joke is unclear from available context. **"Bible Names"** and **"The Age Limit"** are light verse and brief humor pieces unrelated to satire—simple wordplay and domestic comedy about children growing up. The page mixes social commentary (hotel fraud) with genteel family humor, typical of Judge's broad appeal to middle-class readers.

# "Ave, Censor!" - Satirizing Censorship Advocates The main story mocks self-appointed moral guardians. Three elderly men—representing censors or moral crusaders—sit debating how to protect "the plain man" from corrupting influences: foul language, suggestive situations, and immoral art. They eagerly volunteer to read all "evil writings" themselves as penance, arguing over who should bear this burden. The satire's point: their overwrought concern is absurd. When an actual plain man passes by, he simply laughs at their quarreling and continues unbothered—suggesting that ordinary people don't need protection from the things censors obsess over. The cartoon attacks censorship movements of the era that sought to suppress "immoral" literature and art. Judge's perspective: censors are self-righteous busybodies whose concern for public morality masks prurient interest in the very material they condemn, while regular people are sensible enough to ignore such crusades.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains **two separate pieces of satirical content**: ## "The One-Piece Bathing-Suit" (Main Article) A humorous poem by Richard Le Gallienne satirizing public debate over women's bathing attire. The piece mocks the controversy surrounding one-piece swimsuits—which exposed more of women's bodies than Victorian swimwear. Le Gallienne ridicules moralists and "blue law" enforcers (religious conservatives) who oppose the suits, treating the swimsuit debate as absurdly overblown compared to serious political matters (Armenia, Silesia, Lenin, Trotsky). The tone is playfully libertine, defending women's right to wear revealing beachwear. ## "Rules of Golf, Illustrated" (Cartoon) A single-panel cartoon by Gene Clarke illustrating a golf rule. A man in formal attire stands on a golf course with a scorecard. The joke appears to reference Rule 4(3)—a caddie cannot advise a player on the ball's location. The caption asks "Can you find it?" suggesting the visual punchline involves something deliberately hard to locate on the course. **Context**: Judge was a humor magazine; these pieces reflect early 20th-century social anxieties about changing women's fashion and public behavior.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **"Going and Coming"** (poem): Humorously contrasts how people talk *before* vacation versus *after*. Before, they excitedly discuss their plans; after returning, they complain and avoid conversation—emphasized by shifting the accent from "va-*CA*-tion" to "va-*SHUN*." **"Ovism"** (art criticism): Mocks the latest European avant-garde art movement replacing Cubism. "Ovism" treats eggs as artistic subjects, painting them in sinister, crime-inducing ways. The satire suggests modernist art movements are absurdly pretentious—even harmless objects become menacing when rendered by these artists. It's a broader jab at experimental art as incomprehensible and ridiculous. **"Burbanknote"**: References Luther Burbank, the famous California plant breeder/horticulturist known for agricultural innovations. The piece sarcastically credits him with impossible botanical feats (removing "age" from cabbage, making dates "easily kept"), poking fun at his exaggerated reputation. The bottom cartoon caption "Where There's a Will There's a Way" appears unrelated to the text above it.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page satirizes bureaucratic efficiency and hollow social conventions through Don Herold's essay "The Rejection of This Manuscript." The cartoon at top depicts a man at his desk mailing form letters—the joke being that he sends pre-printed slips instead of genuine communication. Herold describes systematizing human relationships with duplicated messages: a colleague's insincere dinner invitation answered with mass-produced slips; fake love letters numbered 1-1,000 used to court his seventh sweetheart; excuses to avoid lending money. The satire targets how people use convenient fictions and mass production to avoid authentic interaction. The irony intensifies when Herold claims this represents his "kindness" and "thoughtfulness." He even sends himself a pre-printed slip reminding him that magazine acceptance "does not imply merit"—genuine humility reduced to form-letter self-deprecation. The accompanying illustrations mock stories about exotic adventures (like the Gourmandarin and Elizabeth narratives), contrasting fantastical tales with Herold's mundane, mechanized life. The overall message: modern efficiency has replaced sincerity, and we accept printed simulacra as genuine connection.

# Analysis: Judge Magazine Page This page contains two satirical pieces critiquing early 20th-century social attitudes about women. **"Her No Man's Land"** is a poem suggesting that women's inner lives remain unknowable to men—a philosophical critique framed as romantic mystery. **"Apropos of Cigarettes"** directly mocks male hypocrisy regarding women smoking. A husband reads an editorial by "Mere Man," a character opposing women's smoking as "high-minded" and morally superior. The wife brilliantly deconstructs this: she argues "Mere Man" conflates his personal opinion with collective morality, and that he's only known "bad" women who smoke. She predicts that once he meets a respectable woman who smokes, he'll reverse his position entirely—and society's "consensus" will shift with him. The satire targets how men rationalize prejudices as moral principles, and how social norms around women's behavior are arbitrarily enforced by those claiming objective standards. The cartoon illustrations (the "Perils of Motoring" and beach scene) provide visual comedy relief to the text-heavy social commentary.