Judge was a weeklysatirical magazine published in the United States from 1881 to 1947. It was launched by artists who had left the rivalPuck Magazine. The founders included cartoonistJames Albert Wales, dime novels publisherFrank Tousey and authorGeorge H. Jessop.

Judge

Front page for August 11, 1900
Categories	Satirical magazine
Frequency	Weekly
First issue	October 29, 1881; 143 years ago (1881-10-29)
Final issue	1947
Country	US
Based in	New York City
OCLC	560348751

The first printing ofJudge was on October 29, 1881, during theLong Depression. It was 16 pages long and printed onquarto paper. While it did well initially, it soon had trouble competing withPuck. William J. Arkell purchased the magazine in the middle 1880s. Arkell used his considerable wealth to persuade the cartoonistsEugene Zimmerman ("Zim") andBernhard Gillam to leavePuck. A supporter of theRepublican Party, Arkell persuaded his cartoonists to attack theDemocratic administration ofGrover Cleveland. 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 ofWilliam McKinley largely through the cartoons of cartoonistsVictor Gillam andGrant E. Hamilton. Circulation forJudge was about 85,000 in the 1890s. By the 1900s, the magazine had become successful, reaching a circulation of 100,000 by 1912.^[1]Edward Anthony was an editor in the early 1920s. Anthony was later co-author ofFrank Buck's first two books,Bring 'em Back Alive andWild Cargo.

Harold Ross was an editor ofJudge between April 5 and August 2, 1924. He used the experience on the magazine to start his own in 1925,The New Yorker.^[2]

The success ofThe New Yorker, as well as theGreat Depression, put pressure onJudge. 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 includedArthur L. Lippman andVictor 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 foreshadowingEmmett Tyrrell of today'sThe American Spectator.

A collection ofJudge andPuck cartoons dating from 1887–1900 is maintained by the Special Collections Reference Center of TheGeorge Washington University. The collection is located in GW's Estelle and MelvinGelman Library and is open to researchers.^[3]

American painter and illustratorNorman Rockwell had his firstJudge cover on July 7, 1917, withExcuse Me! (Soldier Escorting Woman). The painting, initially sold at aWorld War ILiberty bond auction, later sold for $543,000 at a May 7, 2021, fine art auction. The sale price is an auction record for any RockwellJudge magazine cover.^[4]

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  "To begin with, 'I'll paint the town red", byGrant E. Hamilton,The Judge vol. 7, 31 January 1885.
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  Midsummer number, 2 Aug 1890
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  Personification of Judge magazine on the cover of the 15 Jul 1893 issue
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  An 1896 cartoon, onWilliam Jennings Bryan's"Cross of Gold" speech
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  An 1899 cover ofJudge magazine showing a cartoon of U.S. PresidentWilliam McKinley
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  Cover expressing opposition tored-light districts, 12 Jan 1901
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  A 1906 cover ofJudge magazine showing a cartoon ofTheodore Roosevelt byEugene Zimmerman
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  1914 cover - "What is the answer?"
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  1918 cover featuring a political cartoon aboutWorld War I
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  1922 cover - "Good Morning, Judge"
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  Christmas number, 20 Dec 1924
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  1925 "Evolution Number" covering theScopes Trial; the cover depicts William Jennings Bryan
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  First Reborn Judge, October 26, 1953, cover by David Wasserman

• Judge archived issues atHathiTrust
• Judge v094 n2429 (1928-05-19)
• Guide to the Samuel Halperin Puck andJudge Cartoon Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University