Judge, 1891 · page 61 of 69
Judge — 1891 — page 61: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising content**, not satire. Judge magazine published this promotional piece for Pears' Soap, a British cleaning product celebrating its centennial. The text claims Pears' Soap's hundred-year success proves its superiority and "honesty" as a product. It appeals to vanity—particularly women's desires for "fair, white hands," "bright, clear complexion," and beauty—positioning the soap as essential to attractiveness. The illustrations show Victorian-era figures using or purchasing the product. The small wood-cut vignettes depict everyday scenes meant to normalize Pears' Soap usage. The "SHUN MISREPRESENTATIONS" section warns consumers against inferior substitutes, alleging druggists and storekeepers push cheaper alternatives "for the sole purpose of making more profit." This was common competitive advertising rhetoric of the era. The page reflects period attitudes about complexion, gender, and consumer culture rather than containing editorial satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FUNNY THINGS FROM JUDGE. The TALE OF A CENTURY. — (-) mission of cleanliness. To-day its use is universal, and , more people than ever before acknowledge its superiority ---a sure evidence that its mission has been successful. For one hundred years it has maintained its supremacy in the face of the whole world’s competition. Such a record could not be achieved without cause. Temporary successes are comparatively easy, but for an article to go on maintaining its popularity through generation after gen- eration, it must appeal to something more than passing fancy. This is the case with Pears’ Soap. It is, and always has been, an honest product. In the United States it has found a place in public favor equal to that so long held in England. Men and women alike find it good and reliable. The man who has once tried Pears’ Soap in the form of a shaving stick wants no other; he takes it with him on all his journeys. That woman who travels and fails to ‘ * take, as she would her tooth-brush or hair-brush, a supply of Pears’ Soap, must put up with cheap substitutes until her burning, smart- ing skin demands the “matchless for the complexion.” Even children know the difference. So long as fair, white hands, a bright, clear complexion, and a soft, healthful skin continue to add to beauty and attractive- ness, so long will Pears’ Soap continue to hold its place in the good opinion of women who want to be beautiful and tractive. SHUN MISREPRESENTATIONS. te Insist on having Pears’ Soap. Substitutes are some- times recommended by druggists and storekeepers for the sole purpose of making more profit out of you. comicbooks.com