Judge, 1891-05-02 · page 13 of 20
Judge — May 2, 1891 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Williams' brand shaving soap by appealing to health and safety concerns. The page uses a Spanish proverb ("Well lathered is half shaved") as a hook, then pivots to a health warning: during shaving, facial skin is vulnerable to infection, so barbers should use pure soap. A Chicago physician's testimonial claims he treated seven men for facial poisoning caused by contaminated cheap soaps containing "putrid fats" and dangerous minerals. The ad suggests unscrupulous dealers sell inferior soap simply to maximize profit at barbers' expense. The advertisement warns consumers to ask their barber whether he uses Williams' soap—implying competitors' products are dangerously adulterated. The razor and soap bar illustrations serve as product branding. This reflects early 20th-century concerns about product safety and purity before strict FDA regulation existed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Well LATHERED is half SHAVED.” —Spanish proverb, While being SHavep the face is most sensitive to contagion. Is it not of vta/ importance then, that your Barber use a shaving soap of KNOWN PURITY? READ THIS: One of the best known physicians in Chicago writes as follows : “7 want to warn all barbers against buying the so-called ‘cheap’ soups which are now being offered and sold by many dealers, Within the fast month I have had seven men come to me to be cured whose faces had been poisoned in our barber-shops. I have analysed the soap used, and find it to contain matter that never ought to be put on the face of any human being, It ts nothing short of a CRIME for dealers to sell such soaps, which they do, simply to make more money out of the barbers than they can make by selling a first-class article, I know of but one shaving soap that I can unhesitatingly recommend, and that is WILLIAMS.” CAUTION—"« your Barber if he uses WILLIAMS’ SOAP. If he does not, he is using some other kind simply because it io a trifle cheaper, The impurities contained in these inferior kinds are what render them so dangerous to use. Putrid fats, dangerous mineral Substances, cause most of the distressing facial disfigurements. If your Barber does not use WILLIAMS’ Soar, go to one who ‘does. Tue J. B, Witttams Co. are famous throughout the world as makers of the famous ‘GENUINE YANKEE SHAVING Soar.” comicbooks.com