1897 Hamilton 'Judge' Cartoon of the Mystery Airship Panic

This Grant E. Hamilton cartoon, published as the cover the May 15, 1897, issue of Judge lampoons the 1897 Mystery Airship Panic. A little known historical episode: in the months previous a series of mysterious 'airship' sightings, akin to modern UFO sightings, were reported across the United States - leading to both panic and curiosity.

A Closer Look

Depicted as an oblong-shaped gas bag driven by a bicycle with modified waterwheels, the 'airship' has a bright light at front labeled 'bright fun' that beams directly at viewers below. A canister reading 'condensed fun' fills the gas bag, while a judge (a personification of the magazine) pedals the bicycle and propels the airship. Brooklyn, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver, and San Francisco stretch out below the airship. The caption reads, 'The Truth Out at Last! The flying-machine seen in different parts of the country of late, and creating such a sensation, was only Judge opening the bike season with his aerial cycle'. Bicycling was becoming a national craze in the late 1890s, making this cartoon even more ridiculous. Judge didn't mean to cause such chaos, they were only enjoying the advent of spring and good cycling weather.

1897 Mystery Airship Panic

A mania (perhaps it was a craze?) of mystery airship sightings spread across the United States from mid-November 1896 through late May 1897. Sightings began in California, with the first reported on November 18, 1896, in the Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco Call. Several other sightings were reported in California through December, but nothing was confirmed. Then, from January through late May 1897 sightings of airships of varying size and design were reported throughout the central United States, including in Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Minnesota. Most of these sightings have been explained as either hoaxes or misidentifications, but some remain to be satisfactorily explained.

Publication History and Census

This cartoon was drawn by Grant E. Hamilton and published as part of the May 15, 1897, issue of Judge Magazine. This is the only known digitized example and we have found no history of this issue of Judge or the separate cover appearing on the private market.