Judge — May 3, 1924

# Judge Magazine Contest No. 18 (May 1, 1924) This page features a domestic humor cartoon by Gilbert Wilkinson showing a married couple at home. The wife stands holding what appears to be clothing or fabrics, while the husband sits relaxed. The wife asks: "Don't you know when to stop?" and the husband's response is left blank for readers to complete. The joke likely plays on common marital tensions of the 1920s—perhaps about the wife's shopping habits, the husband's drinking or smoking, or excessive talking. The contest invites readers to supply the husband's witty comeback, with a $25 prize for the cleverest line. This reflects Judge magazine's typical middle-class domestic humor, where gender dynamics and marriage provided standard comedic material for the era.

# "Judge: Relativity" — Satirical Commentary on Dating Standards This cartoon satirizes changing social attitudes about romance and marriage eligibility. The title "Relativity" references Einstein's famous theory, suggesting that standards of acceptability are relative rather than absolute. The sketch shows a woman (labeled "Prudence") with a Ph.D. being evaluated by a man. The dialogue presents the contradiction: she's intellectually accomplished ("Pretty matron," Einstein-level intellect), yet this makes her seem "undumb" as marriage material. The concluding joke—where the caddie romantically overcomes his doubts and embraces her—mocks how men prioritize emotional appeal over intellectual equality. The satire criticizes society's expectation that educated women should suppress their accomplishments to appear more desirable as partners.

# Analysis **Top cartoon:** A doctor examines a patient (Mrs. Peck) while her husband Henry watches. The doctor says he "guessed it right off" upon examining her tongue—a standard medical diagnostic procedure of the era. The joke appears to be about Henry's confident diagnosis preceding the professional one, suggesting amateur medical presumption or a wife's obvious ailment. **Bottom cartoon:** A man tells another (Shucks) he'll "let 'em fight a little" with "no hurry about getting ashamed of myself." The rural setting and casual attitude toward fighting suggest this satirizes working-class masculinity and honor culture—perhaps mocking the willingness to engage in petty brawls without social consequence. Both cartoons employ gentle social satire typical of Judge's humor targeting everyday American character types.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains a humorous essay titled "Random Reflections" by Corey Ford about encountering one's own reflection in mirrors and storefront windows while moving through the city. The accompanying cartoons illustrate the awkward moments of self-recognition. The top cartoon shows a moving van with children playing underneath a maypole-like structure, captioned "How to Take the Curse Off Moving-Day." The bottom cartoon depicts a man removing a reflector from his car in what appears to be a clothing store or tailor shop, captioned about detaching the reflector before eating without worrying about losing his coat. The humor relies on self-deprecating observations about vanity and the mishaps of urban life—there's no identifiable political content or caricature on this page. It's primarily social satire about everyday human behavior.

# Judge's Rotogravure Section Analysis This satirical page from *Judge* magazine features several political cartoons from the Prohibition era: **Top left**: Senator Hiram W. Johnson and Oscar W. Underwood are caricatured debating who'll receive the Republican presidential nomination—depicted as a golf competition where the winner takes the "golfers' old vote next fall." **Center**: A woman labeled "Freddie Flop, the 'lending lady'" represents varsity show entertainment at University of Utah. **Right side**: Rev. Dr. John Roach Straton, a fundamentalist minister, is mocked for claiming dinosaur eggs were "lost by Eve"—satirizing anti-evolution religious arguments. **Bottom**: "Another Effect of Prohibition" shows liquor lockers installed in a kindergarten to discourage flask-toting. WM. S. Hart's White House visit is also referenced. The page satirizes 1920s political debates, religious fundamentalism, and Prohibition-era concerns.

# "The Fable of the Man Who Was Always Too Late" This is a satirical story illustrated by Corwood about F. Hyams, a slow, methodical dried-fish businessman perpetually chasing social trends—always arriving just after they've passed. The narrative follows his repeated pattern: he observes Ping-Pong becoming popular, studies it carefully, then arrives to find people dancing instead. Later, he laboriously learns bridge only to discover Mah-Jongg has replaced it as the fashionable game. The top cartoon shows Hyams reuniting with a childhood schoolmate, contrasting their social trajectories. The satire targets a recognizable type: the uncool, risk-averse social climber who methodically pursues respectability but lacks intuition or spontaneity. By the time he masters each fad through diligent study, society has moved on. The joke—that he ultimately resigns himself to learning solitaire—suggests some people are simply destined to remain outsiders, regardless of effort.

This is a humorous cartoon satirizing the *Automobile Blue Book*, an early automotive industry directory listing car owners. The joke hinges on social vanity: an older woman (likely representing a traditional, upper-class perspective) assumes that purchasing a car automatically grants one entry into this prestigious registry—as though buying an automobile instantly elevates one's social status enough to be documented in an official publication. The satire mocks both the nouveau riche's aspirations and the commercial machinery that caters to them. The young person's response (implied by the aunt's question) suggests this is exactly what attracts buyers: the promise of social recognition and status symbol acquisition through car ownership during the automobile boom era.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page presents several short humorous pieces satirizing early 20th-century urban life and social conventions. The main cartoon depicts cramped apartment living—a grid of tiny bathroom stalls—mocking the absurdity of crowded city housing where privacy is nonexistent. The caption notes this reflects "the situation in every apartment in the city when you want to see the bathroom," a jab at urban overcrowding. Other pieces mock contemporary social situations: a man's unrequited love for a subway advertisement ("silk stocking ad"), gender confusion about a cross-dressing man mistaken for a lady, class dynamics with a "tramp" character, and romantic clichés about parting being "sweet sorrow." The floriculturist cartoon plays on horticultural pretension. Overall, the page uses gentle satire targeting urban congestion, advertising's invasiveness, class markers, marriage, and the gap between romantic poetry and mundane reality—typical Judge magazine fare poking fun at modern American social anxieties.

# "The Boys of Our College Stage a Musical Comedy" This Judge satirical page lampoons a college theatrical production by depicting male students in women's chorus costumes—a common practice in early 20th-century college shows where men performed female roles. The humor derives from the physical awkwardness of athletic young men (identified by sports nicknames like "Lefty" Wing, a boxer, and "120-yard" Birch, an athlete) squeezed into revealing female costumes. Each caption highlights a specific comedic complaint: costume malfunctions, wardrobe insufficiency for athletic builds, and the general indignity of wearing such attire. The cartoonist satirizes both the absurdity of cross-dressing theatrical traditions and the contrast between masculine college athletes and feminine performance costumes. This reflects contemporary attitudes toward theatrical gender performance and college culture circa the 1920s.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains several short humor pieces and a comic strip about a "bashful bull." **The main story, "O Tempora! On, Hot Dow!"** contrasts old-fashioned tea etiquette with modern (1920s) informality. The narrator recalls attending a formal Victorian tea with delicate cups and careful behavior. He's then invited to a modern tea by "Beatrice and Andy," where the hostess apologizes for mess, mentions ashes on the rug, and the host is "mixing up a flood of gin in the double boiler"—a reference to Prohibition-era illegal alcohol production. The satire mocks how drastically social customs changed, particularly around propriety and alcohol consumption. **The remaining items are brief comic exchanges** about divorce speed, children's lying, and marital discord—typical magazine filler humor. **The illustrated strip** shows a bull repeatedly charging a "No Swimming" sign and being knocked back, ending in an explosion. The caption "Pitiful tragedy of the bashful bull" suggests ironic humor—the bull is anything but bashful, aggressively attacking the sign.

# Training School for Headwaiters This satirical cartoon mocks the exaggerated mannerisms and class pretensions of headwaiters in upscale restaurants. It presents five "lessons" teaching the stereotypical behaviors expected of the profession: proper posture and poise, maintaining a dignified demeanor ("erect carriage"), projecting practiced nonchalance, directing patrons with affected courtesy ("This way, please"), and most pointedly, displaying open contempt toward customers. The humor lies in exposing the headwaiter as a performer mastering theatrical affectation and barely-concealed disdain for those he serves—suggesting that restaurant hierarchy and snobbery were readily apparent to contemporary diners. The facial expressions panels emphasize how the "contempt" expression correlates with different price tiers, implying the attitude scales with the restaurant's pretension.

# Two Satirical Cartoons from Judge Magazine **Top cartoon:** A tourist at a country hotel complains about a bird singing outside their bedroom window. The hotel clerk responds by charging an extra ten dollars "for music." This satirizes rural innkeepers' greed and opportunism—extracting fees for every possible amenity, even natural occurrences beyond their control. It mocks both their penny-pinching entrepreneurship and tourists' tendency to complain about minor inconveniences. **Bottom cartoon:** Titled "If the pedestrian could have one wish," it depicts a man gleefully kicking toy automobiles while dogs attack toy cars. This reflects early 20th-century frustration with automobiles—vehicles that were still relatively new, dangerous, and represented an intrusive modern threat to pedestrians and traditional street life. The cartoon expresses the common person's fantasy of revenge against the automobile age.