Judge, 1900-02-03 · page 11 of 16
Judge — February 3, 1900 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **paid advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Williams' Shaving Soap using a testimonial from Mr. Bender, proprietor of the prestigious Hoffman House Barber Shop in New York. The page features a photograph of the barber shop's interior—a luxurious space with multiple stations, ornate wall sconces, and well-dressed customers and barbers. This visual establishes the establishment's upscale reputation to lend credibility to the product endorsement. The advertisement employs a common early-20th-century marketing strategy: leveraging a respected professional's endorsement. Bender claims his workers perform better work and customers are more satisfied when using Williams' soap, emphasizing "safety and comfort." The closing rhetorical question ("DOES YOURS?") targets other barbers, suggesting they should adopt the product for their own competitive advantage. This represents straightforward commercial advertising rather than editorial content or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Famous Hoffman House Barber Shob, NEW YORK. Williams’ Shaving Soab. MR. BENDER, Proprietor of the Hoffman House Barber Shop, says: « During many years in the barber business I have tried about all kinds of shaving soaps made in this country, but I always come sack to Witt1ams’ Soar. My workmen can do better work with it; my customers are better pleased with it, and J always ree. sarz when using WILLIAMS’ Soar. I take pleasure in endorsing Williams’ Shaving Soap as the best for barber’s use. First-class barbers all over the world—barbers who consider their own interests, and the SAFETY and COMFORT of their cus- tomers—use Williams’ Shaving Soap. DOES YOURS ?