''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. For magazines published online, see List of satirical news websites. List See also * List of sat ...

published in the United States from 1881 to 1947. It was launched by artists who had left the rival '' Puck Magazine''. The founders included cartoonist James Albert Wales, dime novels publisher Frank Tousey 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 Panic of 1873, 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1899, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been e ...

. 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 ("Zim") and Bernhard Gillam 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 the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. With GOP aid, ''Judge'' boomed during the 1880s and 1890s, 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 Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

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 magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

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

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, put pressure on ''Judge''. It became a monthly in 1932 and ceased circulation in 1947. Previously, in 1921, the parent company of the magazine had been put into receivership, and Leslie's was merged into it in 1922. ''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. 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." Ba ...

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

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. The collection is located in GW's Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library and is open to researchers. American painter and illustrator

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

had his first ''Judge'' cover on July 7, 1917, with ''Excuse Me! (Soldier Escorting Woman)''. The painting, initially sold at a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Liberty bond A liberty bond or liberty loan was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

auction, later sold for $543,000 at a May 7, 2021, fine art auction. The sale price is an auction record for any Rockwell ''Judge'' magazine cover.

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, ''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. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

'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, 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), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

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

File:JudgeMagazine25Mar1922.jpg, 1922 cover - "''Good Morning, Judge''" File:JudgeMagazine13Sep1924.pdf, "The Cake Eater Gets the Frosting." Cover depicting a flapper dancing the Charleston with a skeleton, representing the dangers of reckless behavior. September 13, 1924, Vol. 87, no. 2237. 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. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...

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 New York City Humor magazines Magazines disestablished in 1947 Magazines established in 1881 Monthly magazines published in the United States Satirical magazines published in the United States Weekly magazines published in the United States