Judge, 1918-03-23 · page 5 of 32
Judge — March 23, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks newly married couples' susceptibility to furniture salesmen's tricks. The main cartoon shows a classical Venus de Milo statue beside a young woman—comparing her unfavorably to the ideal. The text describes how naive newlyweds purchase a "davenport" (a convertible sofa-bed), believing a furniture man's claim it serves multiple purposes and will "fit up in the garret" until needed. After months of struggling financially, they eventually sell the davenport to recoup costs. The satire targets young couples' gullibility, consumerism, and financial irresponsibility during the early marriage period. Secondary jokes mock women for knitting ("hooverizing"—rationing during WWI) while discussing furniture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by C. W. Axversox Turoucu His Eyes The Venus de Milo compared with her. One Experience of Newly Weds By H.W. Dee HE davenport is a_ long, wide, low-browed mass of quarter-sawed oak and imi- tation leather, designed for newly- weds and other ignorant and inexpe- rienced people. Its conception is reputed to have been the last bitter act of a starving inventor who was violently determined to get even with the world. In his ravings he became obsessed with the notion that beds belong in parlors with wicker tables, tabourettes, piano- players, four dollar and ninety- cight cent vases and enthusiastic art glass reading lamps. Before he came to his senses again he had invented the davenport. When the average brace of newly- weds set about ‘to find out whether two can starve as cheaply as one, the first villain they meet is a bald- faced furniture man who wants to sell them the latest atrocity in trick beds. It is conservatively estimated that he does it in about ninety per cent. of the cases. With his winning ways and seduetive manner well to the front he shows thema davenport, seven by six by four, weighing 983 pounds stripped. He makes them believe that by touching a spring cleverly concealed between its fifth and sixth vertebrae they can curl it up into a frail looking, artistic bit of parlor furniture. Of course they buy the thing. They know no better. To their cooing, love-clouded eyes, it looks as coy and lithe as a baby contortion- ist. If the furniture man had said that it would fly up in the garret and stay there until bedtime for two pokes at the same spring, they would have believed him just as readily. Then they have the beautiful thing carted home and hurled into the parlor through the bay window. After a few months, when they have saved .up enough money for a reliable four-legged bed, they sell their davenport to somebody they hate. Freedom Freedom is actually and abso- lutely a condition which will be en- joyed by the last surviving human being, provided he remains in good enough health and spirits to enjoy it. Ravelled Sleeve of Care Food experts say there isn’t much nourishment in a chicken. Bless ’em, how could there be—they are all hooverizing while they knit. Drawn by Freo Lewis Hr—I’ve been thinking of just nothing all day! Sue—Oh, take your mind off of yourself!