Judge, 1892-12-03 · page 2 of 52
Judge — December 3, 1892 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Pears' Soap advertisement**, not satire. The page presents pseudo-scientific health claims typical of late-19th-century advertising. The text argues that skin health depends on keeping pores clear through regular washing with Pears' Soap—which supposedly contains "no alkali" (a selling point, since alkaline soaps were known to irritate skin). The ad uses humorous illustrations of a personified "Germ" or disease character alongside proper Victorian figures to contrast uncleanliness with civilization and beauty. The core message: good health habits include using Pears' Soap alongside food, activity, and sleep. The rhetorical question "what more can the animal want?" frames soap use as essential to human dignity and health—a common advertising strategy that conflated cleanliness with morality and wellness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
frm In Arm! RG Pears Soap & Baas go by habit. Health is a set of good habits of stom- ach, heart, nerve, etc. The skin has its duties ; it covers and drains us. There are millions of little sewers in it. ‘The drain- age ought to be free. It is no great tax to keep it so; then the skin is in good habit every way. Civilized people keep their drainage free with soap and- water—Pears’ Soap and water; it has no alkali irfait.. Alkali burns and shrivels the skin, un- covers us, makes us rough and red and tender. To keep this drainage free is to keep the skin soft and beautiful. Nature and health delight in beauty. We go by habit; every part of us does the same. Good food and activity, sleep and Pears’ Soap; what more can the animal want—man, woman, child or baby? CB LEO {i >> er a ON comicbooks.com,l