Judge — June 15, 1912 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a vintage advertisement for Dutch Cleanser, a commercial cleaning product. The cartoon features a caricatured figure labeled "T.R." (likely Theodore Roosevelt, president 1901-1909) dressed as a Dutch maid or cleaning worker, holding a scrubbing brush labeled "TRIED & TESTED." The figure says "TRY ME!" The satire appears to equate Roosevelt's political persona or policies with a cleaning product—suggesting he "cleans up" or reforms things, a reference to his reputation as a "trust-buster" and reformer. By depicting him as a domestic cleaner in Dutch dress, the advertisement uses Roosevelt's recognizable public image to humorously promote the product while playing on his association with progressive reform and cleaning up corruption.