Judge, 1893-01-07 · page 16 of 18
Judge — January 7, 1893 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page advertises a literary contest modeled on a popular English craze. Participants pay 25 cents to guess a missing word from a provided paragraph and compete for prize money split among correct answers. The satire targets the contest's popularity and profit potential: a London version supposedly attracted 217,000 participants and distributed $53,500 in prizes. The advertisement ironically notes post-office concerns about legality, then assures readers the paragraph will be taken from a famous published work—a safeguard against accusations of impropriety. The missing-word paragraph itself (from an unnamed classic) describes someone whose powerful friends won't help him for "the slaughter of this wretched [blank]"—a dramatic, melodramatic excerpt designed to intrigue participants. The real target appears to be readers' gullibility about get-rich-quick schemes and the absurdity of mass participation in frivolous contests.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- ALiterary Contest. 3% To assist in enlivening the Holiday Season, the Publishers of have concluded to inaugurate in America the latest English fashion : THE MISSING WORD GONTEST. These amusing contests are now quite the rage in London, and v-e have heard of one of them in which 217,000 persons participated. As each participant contributed a shilling entrance fee, the amount divided among those who supplied the missing word was large. The total $53,500 was divided among 114 persons, so each of these got almost $470. Here are the Terms. of the Contest: Each person who wishes to try to supply the This coupon will be printed every week in missing word in the paragraph that will presently “Frank Leslie's Weekly” until the close of the follow, must cut out the “MISSING WORD contest. COUPON” from this week’s Frank Les.ie’s The result of the contest will be announced Weekty, and with name and address, and the in the issue of February 16th. missing word plainly written in the proper blank No contestants will be permitted to enter after spaces, send the same to the office of the publish- noon of February rst. ers together with twenty-five cents in postage stamps orcurrency. On the lower left hand corner of the en- e j There has been some doubt as to whether or not the proposed contest velope enclosing the coupon and entrance fee, should was objectionable to the law, So that there ‘could be no doubt on the sub- be written “MISSING WORD CONTEST. ject the postofice authorities have been consulted. The assistant attorney lope aut ivi 1 for the Post O' tment says that if the paragraph, from The total of the entrance ‘ees will be divided hich a word has been omitted, be taken {fom a well-known book to, be equally among those who correctly supply the found in almost every library, there could be no objection. We therefore Se ior change the paragraph. as given in our first announcement, and give a quo- mussing ‘word. tation froma writer well known to every reader of English literature. This is the Paragraph: “He knew, besides, that his powerful friends, who would have interceded for him had his offence been merely burning a house or killing a neighbor, would not plead or stand by him in so pitiful a concern as the slaughter of this wretched si All who have sent in the missing word of the former paragraph are privileged to make another trial without paying another entrance fee, or at their option to withdraw their entrance fee. $. may make as many attempts as they choose, but Competitors each attempt must be made on a coupon taken F from FRANK LESLIE’S WEEKLY, and accompanied by the entrance ; ee of 25 cents. proeesececsesececececreseced Address Publishers FRANK LESLIE'S WEEKLY, ARKELL WEEKLY (0., 110 Fifth Ave.,.N. Y. City. 6 comicbooks.com