Judge, 1912-04-20 · page 10 of 24
Judge — April 20, 1912 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous biographical piece satirizing Adam from the Bible, presented as a "Who's Who in Eden" entry. The satire targets several turn-of-the-century concerns: **The main jokes:** - Adam's identity is uncertain (Mr. Adam or Mr. Adam?) — mocking overly formal biographical pretense - He's credited with being history's first "public-spirited" citizen merely for existing and reproducing - His wife had "equal suffrage" but nothing to do, implying women's suffrage advocates would create idle mischief — a dig at women's rights movements - The apple incident gets Adam "free advertising," satirizing modern publicity obsession **The companion cartoons** mock contemporary vices: the "Syncope" poem jokes about patent medicines and doctor visits (medical quackery), while the barber dialogue ridicules dubious hair-growth products. The page satirizes both biblical literalism and modern commercial hucksterism, suggesting that even humanity's origin story gets distorted by contemporary advertising and media sensationalism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Sort 'HIS MAN is the first one mentioned in “Who's Who in Eden,’’ where he was well-known and popular. His other name has been mislaid by histori- ans, and it is a question whether he signed himself Mr. Adam or Mr. Adam. - He is said to have lived somewhere in the vicinity of 5000 or 10000 n.c., and to have supported himself by landscape gardening, fruit raising and other pastoral pursuits. Little is known of his childhood; in fact, it is thought by some that he never wore one. He lived happily for many years, and then met his wife. The wedding was a quiet one and caused but little stir in the community. The fashion sheets of the period made no mention whatever of the gown worn by the bride. At this time equal suffrage prevailed; hence Adam’s bet- ter half had little to occupy her: Therefore Satan found some mischief still for her idle hands to do, and straight- way she became occupied by an apple. This particular ap- THE GAME OF GAMES. ’ fe ple, if examined by our food experts of to-day, would have been labeled as unfit for consumption; but in those early times very little was known of chemistry and germs. Adam_partici- pated in the apple-eating contest and regretted it to his dying day. Had Biography of Adam. he known how much free advertising he was going to get later as a result of his act, he perhaps would have felt a little better about it. Adam de- serves fame more on account of his many notable descendants than for any act of his own, His sons, Cain and Abel, got their names on the front page of the yellows at an early age, and others of his posterity have been in the public eye off and on ever since. Adam is generally conceded to have been the first citizen of his time, and we should be thankful that he was so public-spirited as to eye = UT consent to be the pioneer and progenitor of this glorious race. Then Syncope. Little cups of liquid, Little box of pills, Little daily visits, Then the doctor’s bills. Barber —‘‘Getting pretty thin on top, sir. Ever use our Miracle Hairgrowine?” The chair—‘Oh, no! wasn’t that that did it.”” It comicbooks.com