Judge, 1897-03-13 · page 2 of 24
Judge — March 13, 1897 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising**, not satirical content. It's a want-ad placed by John Wedderburn & Co., a Washington D.C. patent attorney firm, offering a $1,800 prize for novel inventions. The ad uses the phrase "Wanted—An Idea" as a hook, appealing to potential inventors to submit simple concepts for patenting. To lend credibility, it lists a "Board of Awards" featuring prominent Washington figures including a U.S. Senator, Congressman, and bank cashier. This represents early 20th-century entrepreneurial marketing—using prestigious names to encourage public participation in an invention contest, essentially soliciting clients for the patent firm while offering financial incentives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Who can think ante — ll bd of some simple thing to patent? Protect your ideas; they may bring you wealth. Write JOHN WEDDERBURN & CO., Patent Attorneys, Washington, D.C., for their $1,800 prize offer and new list of one thousand inventions wanted. The following well-known gentlemen constitute the Board of Awards for selecting the prize-winners in the Wedderburn contest : HON. WILLIAM M. STEWART, United States Senator. HON. CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Membor of Congress. HON. JOHN C. ECKLOFF, Cashier Second National Bank, Washington, D.C, MR. ARTHUR C. MOSES (member of the firm of W. B. Moses’ Sons, Wash- ington, D. ¢.). FREDERICK E. WOODWARD (of the firm of Woodward & Lothrop, Wash- ington, D. 0.) comicbooks.com