Judge, 1900-12-22 · page 41 of 48
Judge — December 22, 1900 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It uses a humorous narrative about Santa Claus to market shaving soap. The joke: Old Santa Claus arrives with his traditional long beard and finds modern men clean-shaven. To stay fashionable and relevant, he shaves off his iconic whiskers using Williams' Shaving Soap. The ad then suggests giving the soap as a Christmas gift to discouraged friends—implying that grooming/a clean shave brings hope and modernization. The advertisement emphasizes that Williams has been "the only recognized standard for shaving" for sixty years and is available globally (London, Paris, Dresden, Sydney). The illustrations show Santa before and after shaving. This reflects early 20th-century advertising's use of humor and recognizable figures (Santa) to promote consumer products, alongside broader cultural shifts toward clean-shaven male appearance during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
»\, Old Santa Claus was grumpy — % Hed come with Christmas chimes : But found the men so modern, He felt behind the times . How did he get in fashion ? He didn't moan and mope, But quickly shaved his whiskers With — > SHAVING _ SOAP Have you a friend discouraged , And would you give him hofe?.. « Put in his Christmas stocking , Some Williams’ Shaving Soap . Williams Shaving Soaps have for sixty years been the only recognized standard for shaving, and in the form of Shaving Sticks . Shaving Tablets Shaving Cream.etc...are sold by druggists and perfumers all over the world . THE J.BWILLIAMS (0. Glastonbury , Conn. LONDON PARIS DRESDEN SYDNEY comicbooks.com