Judge, 1909-06-26 · page 20 of 21
Judge — June 26, 1909 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not a political cartoon. It announces that Pall Mall cigarettes—an American/British brand—has secured distribution rights through La Régie Française, the French government tobacco monopoly, making them available at Paris hotels and cafés. The ad's implicit boast is that La Régie Française, which controlled its own favored brands, agreed to this arrangement only due to "insistent demand"—meaning Pall Mall's superior quality forced the French monopoly's hand. This frames commercial success as a kind of prestige victory. Pricing is listed for London, America, and France (1 franc, 30 centimes), suggesting the magazine's international readership of affluent travelers. The heraldic coat of arms adds legitimacy. For modern readers: this represents early 20th-century luxury cigarette marketing targeting wealthy English and American expatriates in France.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PALL MALL FAMOUS CIGARETTES @ The proprietors take pleasure in announcing that they have concluded arrangements with LA REGIE FRANCAISE which will enable their English and American patrons traveling or residing in France to procure these famous cigarettes at all the principal Hotels and Cafés, and at 44, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris @This is but another acknowledgment of the superior excellence of PALL MALL FAMOUS CIGARETTES, for La Regie Francaise (being the . French Government Monopoly, and having its own favored brands) accorded this splendid compliment only in deference to a most insistent demand. (Especially convenient for our patrons automo- biling in France are the boxes of fifty. Also packed. in the usual attractive boxes of ten. “A Shilling in London A Quarter Here” In France—1 franc, 30 centimes