Judge, 1891-07-04 · page 15 of 18
Judge — July 4, 1891 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **disguised advertisement for Williams' Shaving Soap** masquerading as a satirical cartoon in Judge magazine. The central figure is **P.T. Barnum**, the famous 19th-century showman and circus impresario. The joke plays on Barnum's well-known appearance and his famous phrase "a face was his fortune" — suggesting his distinctive look contributed to his celebrity. The gimmick: readers are instructed to cover the surrounding smaller faces with paper slips. When covered, they theoretically all look identical. Once uncovered and compared to the large central Barnum portrait, the ad claims this reveals "how Mr. Barnum might have looked" without Williams' Soap — implying the product's superiority transformed his appearance. The testimonial from W.B. Roberts, Barnum's actual valet who shaved him 4,880 times over 12 years, lends false credibility to the otherwise absurd comparison. This is essentially **fake advertising posing as editorial content** — a common deceptive practice of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Cover all the faces with slips of paper, below the dotted fines, You will then see that the all exactly the same. Now uncover, and compare with the large central figure. ‘This will show you how Mr. Barnum might have looked, but for the famous Wi.iaMs’ SHAVING Soap. IS would hwe been horrible < TZ Tue GREATEST AND BEST Stow on Eartu Is an honest, open countenance. Tux min whose “Face was his ForTuNe” | Williams’ Shaving Soap. Kezp the face SHAVEN, yy all means. 1st. It doods better, and, 2d, It tends to better Aealth— ‘so physicians say. If you shave yourself— Use Witttas’ Soar, If shaved by your Barber, ask Aim to Use Witttams’ Soar, AND ALL ConTaaious Skin Diseases speedilylcured by Wyatt B. Ronerts. Valet, (Signed) - “I shated Mr. Barnum over Four Thousand Times, performing the operation every morning for 12 years—or 4,880 t, writes as follows : sfactory. It is superior to all others—Pune, Rict and Most DELICATE. Mn. W. B, Ronerts, for many years Mx. BARNuM's valet and constant atte times ini all. Icatwayt used WiLL1AMS' SHAVING SoAP, finding it fo be the most s “¢Bripcerort, CONN., May 14, 1891." usand IMES, i comicbooks.com