Judge, 1918-06-15 · page 35 of 36
Judge — June 15, 1918 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features actor **Douglas Fairbanks** endorsing the "Smileage" campaign—a wartime morale initiative for soldiers in WWI Army and National Guard camps. The campaign sold coupon booklets that funded entertainment (theater, vaudeville, concerts, movies) for enlisted men. Fairbanks, a famous silent-film star known for his broad smile and athletic charm, was an ideal celebrity spokesperson. His typed message appeals to patriotic sentiment: soldiers deserve morale-boosting entertainment after difficult days, and civilians should buy Smileage Books as an unselfish gesture. The accompanying text explains the logistics: booklets cost $1 (twenty 5-cent coupons) or $5 (hundred coupons), with War Department oversight. *Judge* magazine itself pledges to donate the advertisement and bundle a $1 book with subscriptions. This reflects 1918 homefront culture—mobilizing civilian support for troops through commercial patriotism and celebrity endorsement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A FAMOUS SMILER ROOTS for SMILEAGE “Doug” Fairbanks Sends an Exclusive Message to ‘Judge’ Readers Douglas Fnicbanko Hollywood, Calif. May 17th, 1918. Snileage Campaign, c/o “Judge” New York, Be Y. Hello Everybody! Three cheers for the brain that conceived the Smileage ticket idea. It is human -~ considerate - unselfish. The Camp Theatre is a wonderful thing for our boys. A uniform doesn't ohange things for a soldier after the day is over. If you want to smile, with that amile that comes from a man who has done something worthwhile e- buy a amileage book for the Boys: Come on folks -- let's all be human, considerate and unselfish and buy -- then buy some more Smileage Books for our Sammies. Sincerely, aie N the thirty-two big Na- tional Army and National Guard Camps large theaters have been put up in which pro- fessional theatrical companies are giving regular shows. Real vaudeville by special companies, who will play only at the camps; the best concerts, movies and lectures will also be given. Smileage Books come in two sizes. One contains twenty $-cent coupons and costs $1. The other size contains one hundred 5-cent coupons and costs $5. The cost of admission to these shows varies from two coupons to five coupons, depending on the bigness of the show. It will never be over five coupons. The accounts are audited by men from the War Department. Judge has been appointed a Smileage Headquarters and will receive orders and forward Smileage Books to you or direct to a soldier in camp as you re- quest. Judge donates this advertise- ment and in addition will include a One Dollar Smileage Book with each Judge subscription sent direct to us at $5.00 during the next thirty days. Judge Smileage Book Committee 225 Fifth Ave., N. Y. comicbooks.com