''Judge'' was a weekly

satirical magazine This is a list of satirical magazines which have a satirical bent, and which may consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes. List See also * List of satirists and satires * List of satirical news websites * List of satir ...

published in the United States from 1881 to 1947. It was launched by artists who had seceded from its rival '' Puck''. The founders included cartoonist James Albert Wales, dime novels publisher

Frank Tousey Frank Tousey (1853–1902) was among the top five publishers of dime novels in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Based in New York, his sensationalism drew a large audience of youth hungry for scenes of daring and tormented heroes and damsels in dist ...

and author George H. Jessop.

History and profile

The first printing of ''Judge'' was on October 29, 1881, during the

Long Depression The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1896, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing st ...

. It was 16 pages long and printed on quarto paper. While it did well initially, it soon had trouble competing with ''Puck''. William J. Arkell purchased the magazine in the middle 1880s. Arkell used his considerable wealth to persuade the cartoonists

Eugene Zimmerman Eugene "Zim" Zimmerman (May 26, 1862 – March 26, 1935) was a Swiss-American cartoonist. Early life He was born in Basel, Switzerland. His mother died and he was sent to live with relatives in Alsace. In 1867 his father, who was a baker, an ...

("Zim") and

Bernhard Gillam Bernhard Gillam (April 28, 1856 – January 19, 1896) was an English-born American political cartoonist. Gillam was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire. He arrived in New York with his parents in 1866. He worked as a copyist in a lawyer's office, but ...

to leave ''Puck''. A supporter of the Republican Party, Arkell persuaded his cartoonists to attack the Democratic administration of

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. With GOP aid, ''Judge'' boomed during the '80s and '90s, surpassing its rival publication in content and circulation. By the early 1890s, the circulation of the magazine reached 50,000. Under the editorial leadership of Isaac Gregory, (1886–1901), ''Judge'' further allied with the Republican Party and supported the candidacy of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

largely through the cartoons of cartoonists Victor Gillam and Grant E. Hamilton. Circulation for ''Judge'' was about 85,000 in the 1890s. By the 1900s, the magazine had become successful, reaching a circulation of 100,000 by 1912. Edward Anthony was an editor in the early 1920s. Anthony was later co-author of Frank Buck's first two books, ''Bring 'em Back Alive'' and ''Wild Cargo''.

Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospector' ...

was an editor of ''Judge'' between April 5 and August 2, 1924. He used the experience on the magazine to start his own in 1925, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. The success of ''The New Yorker'', as well as the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, put pressure on ''Judge''. It became a monthly in 1932 and ceased circulation in 1947. ''Judge'' was resurrected in October 1953 as a 32-page weekly. David N. Laux was President and Publisher with Mabel Search as editorial director and Al Catalano as art director. Contributors included Arthur L. Lippman and

Victor Lasky Victor Lasky (7 January 1918 – 22 February 1990) was a conservative columnist in the United States who wrote several best-selling books. He was syndicated by the North American Newspaper Alliance. Background On January 7, 1918, Victor Lasky w ...

. There were sections with light essays on sport, golf, horse racing, radio, theater, television, bridge and current books, along with submissions from college magazines, a crossword puzzle, single-panel cartoons and humorous pieces. There were several political sections; one-liners, cartoons and longer essays with mostly a conservative bent, in a style foreshadowing

Emmett Tyrrell Robert Emmett Tyrrell Jr. (born December 14, 1943) is an American conservative magazine editor, book author and columnist. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''The American Spectator'' and writes with the byline "R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr." Bac ...

of today's ''

The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor- ...

''. A collection of ''Judge'' and ''Puck'' cartoons dating from 1887–1900 is maintained by the Special Collections Reference Center of The

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. The collection is located in GW's Estelle and Melvin

Gelman Library The Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, more commonly known as Gelman Library, is the main library of The George Washington University, and is located on its Foggy Bottom campus. The Gelman Library, the Eckles Library on the Mount Vernon campus a ...

and is open to researchers.Guide to the Samuel Halperin Puck and Judge Cartoon Collection
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University

Gallery

File:"I'll paint the town red", political cartoon, 1885.jpg, "To begin with, 'I'll paint the town red", by

Grant E. Hamilton Grant E. Hamilton (16 August 1862 - 17 April 1926) was an American political cartoonist. Biography On August 16, 1862, Hamilton was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He was the art editor for the New York-based satirical magazine Judge for over 20 year ...

, ''The Judge'' vol. 7, 31 January 1885. File:JudgeMagazine2Aug1890.jpg, Midsummer number, 2 Aug 1890 File:JudgeMagazinePersonification.jpg, Personification of Judge magazine on the cover of the 15 Jul 1893 issue File:Cross of gold speech cartoon.jpg, An 1896 cartoon, on

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

's "Cross of Gold" speech File:Judge 06-10-1899.jpg, An 1899 cover of ''Judge'' magazine showing a cartoon of U.S. President

File:JudgeMagazine12Jan1901.jpg, Cover expressing opposition to

red-light districts A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

, 12 Jan 1901 File:judge-Roosevelt.jpg, A 1906 cover of ''Judge'' magazine showing a cartoon of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

File:JudgeMagazine11Jul1914.jpg, 1914 cover - "''What is the answer?''" File:JudgeMagazine23Feb1918.png, 1918 cover featuring a political cartoon about

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

File:JudgeMagazine20Dec1924.jpg, Christmas number, 20 Dec 1924 File:JudgeMagazine18Jul1925.jpg, 1925 "Evolution Number" covering the Scopes Trial; the cover depicts William Jennings Bryan File:Judgeoctober1953.jpg, ''First Reborn Judge'', October 26, 1953, cover by David Wasserman

References

External links

{{Commons category, Judge (magazine)
''Judge'' archived issues
at

HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

Judge v094 n2429 (1928-05-19)

Guide to the Samuel Halperin Puck and ''Judge'' Cartoon Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
1881 establishments in the United States 1947 disestablishments in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Humor magazines Magazines disestablished in 1947 Magazines established in 1881 Magazines published in New York City Monthly magazines published in the United States Satirical magazines published in the United States Weekly magazines published in the United States