Judge, 1915-07-31 · page 27 of 28
Judge — July 31, 1915 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**, but a **pharmaceutical advertisement** from Standard Oil Company's Judge magazine placement. The page promotes Nujol, a mineral oil laxative. The ad makes claims typical of early-20th-century patent medicine marketing: that constipation causes widespread sickness, that traditional cathartics are dangerous and habit-forming, and that mineral oil offers a superior "mechanical" (non-drug) solution. Notable contextual elements for modern readers: - References "Russian oil now cut off by the war" (likely WWI era) - Claims the product requires no doctor and can be taken "in any quantity without harm" — assertions that would violate modern FDA regulations - Offers a free informative pamphlet, a common marketing tactic of the period - The emphasis on constipation as a major health threat reflects era-specific medical beliefs The ad represents a historical moment before strict pharmaceutical regulation, when such broad health claims and self-treatment messaging were commonplace and unregulated.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
At Last—Doctors Have Learned How to Fight Constipation ONSTIPATION—the indirect source of so much sickness : | and unhappiness—is the latest conquest of medical science. t Serer eags § OS . Doctors have found a common-sense remedy in Nujol, a pure refined min- | | eral oil. | | Cathartics and laxatives give only temporary relief. Besides, they weaken | the system and are dangerously habit-forming. In many cases they end by aggravating the very condition which they are meant to cure. | Mineral oil has none of these objections. Mineral oil is not a drug, but a | mechanical lubricant. By facilitating the evacuation of the intestinal con- tents, it restores the normal activity of the bowels and gives you permanent relief from a condition which is a constant danger to your health. The /onger it ts used, the less it ts necessary. Nujol is a pure refined white mineral oil, equal in every respect to the Russian oil now cut off by the war, and adapted for the treatment of practically all phases of chronic constipation. Nujol is 4 - absolutely odorless and tasteless. It may be taken in any quantity without harm. ee Write for “The Rational Treatment of Constipation’’—an informative treatise on constipation and the mineral oil treatment. Ask for Nujol at your druggist’s, or send 75c. for trial pint bottle. Address Dept. M. STANDARD OIL COMPANY k (NEW JERSEY) Bayonne New Jersey Nujol REG.U.S. PAT. A PURE WHITE MINERAL OIL 4 FOR CONSTIPATION | comicbooks.com