Judge, 1920-08-21 · page 36 of 36
Judge — August 21, 1920 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **cigarette advertisement disguised as humorous storytelling** from the Chesterfield brand. The narrative describes a narrator who, as a child, feared the stern judge next door. Years later, the adult narrator smokes a cigarette in the judge's office. Rather than scold him, the judge—who appears equally stern initially—not only tolerates the smoking but *asks for a cigarette himself*, smiling in the process. The "joke" relies on the hypocrisy trope: authority figures who enforce rules they themselves break. By showing the judge as human and relatable (willing to share cigarettes), the ad normalizes smoking and positions Chesterfield cigarettes as a social lubricant that bridges generational and hierarchical gaps. The two small illustrations show figures in formal dress, emphasizing respectability. The advertisement credits "K.C.B.," likely the cartoonist. This reflects early-20th-century advertising before smoking's health dangers were widely acknowledged or regulated.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| ! t ae after all WHEN | wi kid, 1 USED to believe. THE JUDGE next door. WOULD vue me in jail. FOR PLAYING hookey. OR ewiPiNa apples, AND I really behaved. WHEN He lung around. AND even today, "MA utte “scared. OF THE. “stern” old boy, 80 IN bis otace. THE OTHER day. 1 HAD to walt, AND WANTED to smoke. AND I was afraid. oe THE JUDGE would get sore. BUT | took the chance. AND LIT a cigarette. AND THE Judge came in, AND LooKeD. at me, AS THOUGH ra been caught. BURGLING “His safe. . ee AND HE came up. WITH a solemn frown. AND saio,” Young man, NO SMOKING ‘here. UNLESS “THE “old boy. Is SMOKING too. . AND DARNED. if he didn't, SMILE AND “GIVE ME one wot those. SATISFY ry GAR ETTES.” . ay: fie) A GOOD judge of cigarettes will findevidence of expert care and skill in Chesterfield’s exclusive Turkish - Domestic blend. Not only are the tobac- cos of especially choice selec- tion, but, in blending them, our experts have obtained a new smoothness of flavor that easily doubles the pleasure of smoking. With acknowledgments to K. C. B. He was a good Judge-