Judge — April 19, 1924

# Judge Magazine Contest No. 16 (April 1924) This page presents a humor contest, not political satire. The cartoon by Gilbert Wilkinson depicts a domestic scene: a woman in an ornate robe sits on a bed while a man lies in it. The setup dialogue reads: **Frue:** "What makes you think Jack loves you?" **Sue:** [blank line for reader response] Judge magazine invited readers to submit clever punchlines for this romantic/marital humor scenario, offering a $25 prize for the cleverest second line. The cartoon captures 1920s attitudes toward relationships and gender dynamics through lighthearted domestic comedy rather than political commentary. The contest deadline was April 29, 1924, with winners announced in the May 31 issue.

# Analysis of "The Easter Bonnet" Page This page from *Judge* magazine satirizes Easter fashion, particularly women's elaborate Easter bonnets. The upper illustration displays various extravagant hat styles stacked above a woman's head, mocking the absurd excess of millinery trends. The poem by Ellery Rand humorously describes a woman purchasing a "Kelly green" hat—"an injudicious thing to do"—despite her limited wardrobe. The satire highlights the disconnect between women's actual means and their spending on fashionable accessories, particularly hats which were status symbols and essential Easter wear. The lower illustration, "The evolution of the barefoot dancer," appears unrelated—a separate satirical piece about modern dance trends, showing a figure's exaggerated contortions. The overall message critiques conspicuous consumption and women's fashion obsession during the Easter season.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains two separate satirical cartoons: **Top cartoon:** "Fond Mother" depicts a domestic scene where a well-dressed man stands while a woman sits holding children. The caption suggests the mother is shy and mimics her behavior—a commentary on how women were expected to adopt passive, timid mannerisms in Victorian society. **Bottom cartoon:** "Foreman" shows construction workers and a fallen man. The foreman explains he's measuring the roof height using the fallen worker's body as a measuring tool—a dark humor joke about workplace safety indifference and the casual disregard for workers' welfare common in industrial-era labor conditions. Both cartoons use exaggeration to mock social attitudes: gender performance expectations and worker exploitation.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page **Top Section:** "The latest thing—balloon shoes" depicts figures wearing exaggerated inflated footwear, satirizing a fashion fad. This appears to be mockery of absurd consumer trends. **Left Column:** "Gnaffle" is a narrative poem by Hanan Fay, Jr. about a buried character named Gnaffle who was "greet and apart and harmless." The poem's nostalgic, elegiac tone suggests social commentary on loss or change. **Center:** An illustration shows a figure on what appears to be a tightrope or wire, labeled "Darn it—I can't remember now whether I locked the back door or not this morning," satirizing modern anxiety and forgetfulness. **Right Column:** Brief comedic dialogues ("Down Through the Ages," "Slashing Right and Left," "Her Dirty Dozen") mock contemporary social situations and gender relations through quick witty exchanges. The page primarily targets early-20th-century urban fashions, anxieties, and social conventions.

# "Our Little Red Riding Hood" - Political Cartoon Analysis This is a humorous reinterpretation of the classic fairy tale for a modern (early 20th century) audience. The caption "If the wolf were to try it to-day" suggests a satirical commentary on how the traditional story would play out in contemporary times. The sequential panels show Little Red Riding Hood encountering various obstacles and dangers—a wolf, a hunter's gun, and what appears to be a furrier's shop—rather than simply encountering the wolf in the woods. The joke appears to critique modern urban dangers and complications that would prevent the classic tale from unfolding as originally written. The cartoon uses the familiar narrative as a framework to comment on contemporary life's complications and hazards.

# Analysis for Modern Readers This page contains three separate satirical pieces from Judge magazine: **"The Log of the Something or Other"** (top left): A humorous poem mocking sailors' tall tales. The narrator recounts an implausibly vague fishing story—uncertain of dates, what he caught, what he ate—yet insists it's verifiable by asking any ship's officer. It satirizes how unreliable seafarers' stories are, full of convenient memory gaps. **The clothing joke** (bottom left): A brief gag about a woman named Muriel Mehitable who went "crazy over clothes" and had to be institutionalized in a straitjacket. The punchline ("How was it trimmed?") jokes that even in an asylum, she's concerned with fashion details—satirizing women's obsession with clothing trends. **"A National Peril"** (right): This satirizes 1920s theater culture. A blind beggar lost his eyesight not in WWI but from straining to read program notes in darkened theaters during the 1923-24 season when all plays were performed in foreign languages (Russian, Italian, French). It mocks both pretentious foreign theater and the impractical experience it created for audiences.

# Analysis This is a humorous illustrated cartoon titled "Scrambled History No. 10" that deliberately combines unrelated historical/religious narratives for comedic effect. The image shows St. George (the legendary saint famous for slaying dragons) and an actual dragon attempting to board Noah's Ark during heavy rain. The joke relies on absurdist juxtaposition: merging the medieval legend of St. George with the Biblical flood narrative. The "scrambled history" series apparently takes well-known stories and comically misplaces their elements together. The visual satire comes from depicting these iconic figures in an impossible scenario—the dragon St. George should be fighting is now his companion trying to escape the flood, suggesting desperation overrides their legendary conflict.

# "Tough Luck" - Judge Magazine Comic Strip This is a wordless comic strip showing various scenes of misfortune and bad luck. The narrative appears to follow characters experiencing a series of mishaps: people at dining tables with food disasters, conflicts breaking out, individuals being struck or falling, and general chaos and slapstick confusion. The comic uses physical comedy and sequential art to illustrate the concept of "tough luck"—bad fortune befalling the characters through various accidents and unfortunate circumstances. The style is characteristic of early-to-mid 20th century American comic illustration, relying on exaggerated expressions and dynamic poses to convey humor through visual storytelling rather than dialogue. The signature reads "MILT GROSS," a prolific cartoonist known for his physical comedy style in comics and animation.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains two separate satirical pieces from *Judge* magazine: **Top cartoon:** A visitor compliments an elderly man's longevity to his wife, who responds "Yes—ain't it awful?" The joke is dark humor about aging: she's sarcastically suggesting that living to extreme old age is actually undesirable, not admirable. **Bottom piece ("An All Water Rout"):** A satirical story where Columbus, allowed to revisit Earth in the afterlife, attempts to rediscover America. A revenue cutter (U.S. Coast Guard vessel) intercepts him and demands he dump any alcohol overboard—a reference to Prohibition enforcement. Columbus must choose between throwing booze overboard or returning to the underworld; he chooses to go back. The joke satirizes overzealous Prohibition agents who would literally prevent even historical exploration rather than tolerate alcohol. **Newsstand image:** Shows magazines titled "Sappy Stories" and "Beautiful Manhood"—likely mocking pulp fiction and mass-market magazines of the era.

# Page 9: Tourist and Waiter This is a single-panel joke cartoon featuring two men: a tourist and a sour waiter. The tourist, examining the waiter's face, claims he must have seen it before somewhere. The waiter's deadpan response—"No, sir. It's always been like this!"—is the punchline, implying his perpetually gloomy or disagreeable expression is permanent and unchanging. The humor relies on the visual contrast between the tourist's pleasant demeanor and the waiter's sour appearance, along with the implied insult in the exchange. The cartoon satirizes the stereotypical unhappy or surly waiter, a common service-industry type. The exaggerated ink illustration style emphasizes the waiter's dour expression for comedic effect.

# Analysis **Top Cartoon**: A suburban homeowner has walked a guest half a mile in the rain to show property, only to realize he's moved. The joke is on the host's poor memory or the absurdity of suburban real estate pitches. **"How Did They Get That Way?"**: Brief satirical portraits of public figures: - **Henry Ford**: As an infant, he destructively disassembled a rattle. The joke: his inquisitive, tinkering nature made him famous—suggesting his success stems from this fundamental personality trait. - **William Jennings Bryan**: He habitually ran for President (three times: 1896, 1900, 1908). The satire mocks his persistent candidacy despite repeated electoral failures, joking he's "cured" but won't admit it. - **Jack Dempsey**: The boxer recently earned over a million dollars in three fights—presented as evidence he's generous, though the humor is ambiguous. **"Intimate Portraits"**: A crude sketch of Napoleon bathing, likely meant as absurdist humor about depicting famous historical figures in intimate moments. The page exemplifies *Judge*'s style: topical satire targeting recognizable public figures through exaggerated character sketches.