Judge — July 7, 1928

# "The Blindfold Test" This page from *Judge* magazine documents a social experiment testing whether Mrs. Sufferin Catts could identify cocktails by taste alone. The article describes her participating in a blindfold taste test where she sampled four cocktails, with palate-cleansers between rounds. The satire targets the cocktail culture of the Prohibition or early post-Prohibition era, when mixed drinks were fashionable among the upper classes. Mrs. Catts's confident identification of "Judge Jr.'s" recipe—claiming she could "taste the varnish"—suggests the joke is about either the poor quality of homemade cocktails or the pretentiousness of those claiming expertise in cocktail connoisseurship. The advertisement promoting Judge Jr.'s drink recipe book reinforces this was likely promotional content disguised as humorous reportage.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page (July 3, 1928) This page presents an aerial photograph of an industrial factory complex established in 1861, with the headline "If There's a Wheeze We Get It" and "This Factory Was Not Built by Mere Snickers!!! The editorial argues that the factory's success stems not from jokes or humor, but from serious professional dedication. It references Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote about making jokes for forty years without complaints, suggesting the organization operates on genuine work ethic rather than frivolity. The piece appears to be an inspirational corporate message emphasizing that while humor may be a byproduct, the real foundation is hard work, professional standards, and commitment to quality. It's unclear what specific company or criticism prompted this response, though it defends industrial manufacturing pride against perceived dismissiveness.

# Analysis This page from *Judge* magazine appears to be a photo-spread labeled "Among Us" documenting social and entertainment events rather than political satire. The images show: 1. **Top left**: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Shuttleworth at the Krazy Kract office 2. **Top right**: George Jean Nathan with actresses at the Algonquin (theatrical producer marks visible) 3. **Bottom left**: "A Merry Party at Clive Weed's Studio" - a social gathering where participants engaged in gag repartee; wine allegedly tasted like glue 4. **Bottom right**: "Returning from the Day's Gag Hunt" - identifies Ed Graham, Dr. Seuss, R.C. O'Brien, Sanford Tousey, and Barksdale Rogers Rather than political commentary, this is celebrity/entertainment industry gossip photography typical of *Judge's* society coverage, capturing New York's theater and humor-writing circles during this period.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page from *Judge* magazine showcases scenes from the film "Judge Folks," featuring Jefferson Machwer and a "Tiller girl" attending a fancy dress ball. The top caption humorously questions whether readers are "waiting for that Dartmouth student, Judgette?" The middle section, titled "The Stitching Room," appears to satirize factory or workshop conditions where women laborers work—the parenthetical joke suggests this detail "keeps our readers in stitches." The bottom photograph shows Pave Lorentz, identified as a cinema critic, entertaining cinema stars at the Mills Hotel ballroom. Named attendees include Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Norma Talmadge—major silent-film celebrities of the 1920s era. The satire likely comments on class contrasts between entertainment industry elites and working-class laborers, typical of *Judge's* social commentary.

# Analysis of "Suggestions from Our Employees" This Judge magazine page presents humorous employee suggestions to management. The satirical format mocks workplace culture through exaggerated proposals: - Pansy Murphy suggests a "big idea" (she's fired for it) - The Gablowitz Sisters propose weekly movie reviews and a dress code - Marion Hunter jokes about editors wearing Maxim silencers and gas masks on "Contributors' Day" - Jack Shuttleworth suggests afternoon tea service - Freddie Rhorer proposes converting Judge into a funny magazine The central cartoon depicts a job interview where an applicant asks "How did you know I was a college graduate?"—likely satirizing either obvious markers of education or the irrelevance of credentials for the position. The page mocks both employee impertinence and management inefficiency through absurdist humor typical of early-20th-century satirical magazines.

# Analysis of "Ho For the Open Road!" Page This page from *Judge* magazine features photographs of various social outings rather than political cartoons. The content includes: 1. **Vice-Presidents' Annual Outing** — A boat excursion on St. Neithor's Day, featuring someone named Joe Cooney with a derby hat. 2. **"When Good Fellows Get Together"** — Fred Regan, Vernal Bates, and friends at Coney Island. 3. **"Ain't We Got Fun?"** — Alms stitchers from the Pan Factory at their Bryant Park outing, with Ruth Eastman identified. 4. **"What's in That Keg?"** — A group of "he and she" polishers at Van Cortlandt Park, with Paul Reilly and Donald McKee noted. The page celebrates leisure activities and social gatherings among working-class and white-collar groups, reflecting early 20th-century American recreational culture without obvious political satire.

# "Our Employees and Their Pets" This satirical page from *Judge* magazine pairs caricatured staff members with absurd or incongruous "pets" as a humorous commentary on their personalities or professional traits. The examples visible include: - **Mr. Fuller**, described as a famous artist who presented a unicorn to the Queen, earning a knighthood—a fantastical exaggeration of artistic success - **S.J. Perelman** (or similar), paired with an elephant, referencing his supposed inability to sell drawings but later success - **Jefferson Mashamer**, depicted with a goat, noted for his keen sense of smell and ability to detect subtle scents—the goat a visual pun on this sensitivity - **Gardner Rea**, shown with birds, recalling his naval academy days when befriending birds during unpleasant duties made them bearable The satire mocks both the employees' quirks and professional reputations through exaggerated visual pairing. The "pets" humorously illustrate personality traits or career moments, creating inside jokes for *Judge*'s readers familiar with these contributors.

# "Shopshots" from Judge Magazine This is an in-house feature showcasing Judge magazine's own offices and employees—not satire, but workplace pride. The page presents four scenes of the publication's operations: 1. **Factory/Office Tour**: Employees enjoy the new workspace so much they resist leaving at night. 2. **"Joe Miller Room"**: Staff relax by a fireplace, joking around (Joe Miller was slang for old, worn-out jokes). 3. **Playground**: Female staff ("Judgettes") play croquet during breaks. 4. **Lunch Room & Rest Room**: Clerks socialize during meals; Ralph Fuller and others relax in the foreground. The humor is gentle and self-congratulatory—Judge is advertising its modern, employee-friendly workplace with comfortable amenities. The final caption humorously suggests contributors jokingly "swear" their jokes are original, a light jab at the creative process. This reads as institutional boosterism rather than satirical commentary.

# "How We Make Our Jokes 100% Perfect" This is a humorous behind-the-scenes piece about **Oscar C. Judge**, founder of *Judge* magazine (a real satirical weekly). The article satirizes the magazine's own joke-creation process through absurdist exaggeration. The joke: Judge describes an elaborate, ridiculous system where submitted jokes are fed into a mechanical "grading machine" (shown in the photograph) that spins at 2,000 revolutions per minute. Different staff members bet on whether jokes will be rated "Lousy," "Rotten," "Poor," "Fair," "Funny," or "Wow"—with the result supposedly determining the joke's quality. The satire mocks: - The magazine's self-importance and formulaic approach - Corporate bureaucracy and over-systematization - The pretense that humor can be mechanically perfected The absurdist wheel and betting system lampoon the impossibility of manufacturing comedy through rigid processes. It's self-aware satire about *Judge* magazine's own operations, poking fun at the notion that wit can be manufactured, graded, and polished like industrial products.

# Political Cartoon Analysis This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes American patriotism during what appears to be World War I (the military uniform and "going over the top"—a trench warfare reference—suggest this context). The large military figure represents American authority or leadership. The smaller figures below carry flags labeled "100% American," "Mother Love," "Patriotism," "Law and Order," and "Sanctity of Home"—idealized patriotic values. The satire appears critical: these noble ideals are being weaponized or manipulated by those in power, carried like banners into conflict. The cartoon suggests that abstract patriotic concepts are being exploited to mobilize "the Judge boys" (likely American youth or citizens) toward war, using emotional appeals rather than reasoned argument. The artistic style and heavy shading emphasize the grim reality beneath patriotic rhetoric.

# Content Analysis This page presents an educational infographic sequence showing paper manufacturing, from forest to finished product. The seven numbered images illustrate: 1. Forest primeval 2. Felling trees 3. Logs transported to mill 4. Cutting logs 5. Processing wood to paper 6. Printing the paper 7. Finished product (a printed page) The page includes a small humorous dialogue box labeled "No Lady!" with a brief exchange about mistaken identity. This appears to be **not political satire, but rather an informational feature** showing industrial processes—typical of Judge magazine's occasional educational content mixed with humor. The "finished product" likely demonstrates how raw materials become printed media, potentially reflecting early 20th-century industrial optimism. The small joke seems unrelated to the main infographic's purpose.