 Front page for August 11, 1900 | |
| Categories | Satirical magazine |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Weekly |
| First issue | October 29, 1881; 144 years ago (1881-10-29) |
| Final issue | 1947 |
| Country | US |
| Based in | New York City |
| OCLC | 560348751 |
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.
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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