Judge, 1912-01-13 · page 5 of 24
Judge — January 13, 1912 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains advice columnist "Uncle Doodie" (by Carolyn Wells) responding to a reader named Percye about shower gift etiquette for an upcoming wedding. The top cartoon depicts a social gathering where someone appears to be presenting shower gifts, illustrating the contemporary practice being discussed. Below, the columnist advises against fancy, expensive shower gifts, instead recommending DIY "receiver" gifts made from ordinary items—a discarded tomato can, old cigar box, flower box, or match box—decorated creatively with paper and ribbons. The satirical point targets the social pretension of modern weddings: rather than obligatory expensive gifts, homemade, humorous alternatives are preferable and more honest. The small silhouette cartoon at bottom appears to mock formal wedding etiquette conventions. The humor lies in advocating deliberately humble, whimsical gifts over society's materialistic expectations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
" AW AX Bes a) N@ni) We $< 8 Lady sport of the future—" Come, AD PERPETUAM. litle one, don't be afraid Surely you have some confidence in my sense of chivalry 2” Uncle Doodie’s Own Corner. Df PERCYE—I am glad you asked my advice about this matter. A graceful attention to your young man friend about to be married would be a shower. Showers are all the rage just now. Let it be a shower of pretty fancy articles for his own use. Have them exclusively for his own use, for his bride-to-be will have all sorts of show- ers from her girl friends. A lovely shower is a receiver shower. Beautiful receivers may be made of almost any old thing, covered with crinkly paper and ragged out with ribbons. For instance, a whiskbroom receiver can be made of a discarded tomato can. Cut out the bottom to match the top, and flatten the sides in slightly. Swathe it in paper and hitch on the ribbons. A pretty necktie receiver can be made of an old cigar box. Gild it thoroughly, inside and out, and on top nail a bunch of flowers discarded from sister's last summer's hat. A belt receiver is a great thing. Make itof one of the long flower boxes that sister's young man sends her plute roses in. Take one box, cover neatly with wall paper, and line with puffed satin of a contrasting By CAROLYN WELLS. shade. Cover the cover with wall paper also, and on top paste scrap pictures. NOT TO THE MANNER BORN. The cwaif—'' feel out of place in these fine clothes."” This receiver will hold several belts, but if your friend is stout you had better use two boxes, pieced together end to end. A lovely cigar receiver may be made of a paper drinking cup, which you may have procured at some near-by railway station, Hand paint it in a pleasing de- sign, and then, if the design isn’t very pleasing, cover the cup with crinkly pa- per. Tie a bunch of cigar ribbons around it, and fill with twofers. A sightly col- lar-button receiver can be made from an Decorate it in tasty In- empty match box. style and keep it under the bureau. deed, Percye, dear, there is no end to the pretty receivers that you may make for your friend. As you shower the art objects upon him, make some witty remark about “Going into the hands of a receiver’’ or “The receiver's as bad as the thief.’’ After the shower, serve a sweetly pretty repast of jelly sandwiches and lemonade. Have the sandwiches rolled and tied with pink ribbons, and send the lemonade around in small glass cups with pink bows on the handles. If you want to know anything more, Percye, do not hesitate to write me again. comicbooks.com