Judge, 1923-01-06 · page 20 of 36
Judge — January 6, 1923 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page satirizes the automotive industry by awarding laurels to three men. The top portrait honors **Eddie Rickenbacker**, a famous WWI fighter pilot, as "America's unbeatable ace." The two lower portraits praise **Walter White** (likely an engineer or industrialist) for improving trucks, and **Henry Ford** for his Model T ("Tin Lizzie")—though Ford's tribute is clearly mocking, sarcastically praising his car for being "first in pieces" and "first in the garage," suggesting chronic mechanical failure and poor reliability. The ornamental laurel wreath divides the honorees, mimicking classical victory imagery. The satire mocks how these industrial figures receive celebrity treatment while the Model T, despite its commercial success, was notoriously unreliable. The joke plays on Ford's fame versus the reality of his product's quality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Underwood & Underwood To Major Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s unbeatable ace, the highest trump in the pack. Please Pass To Walter White, who, by the constant spark-plugging of his abundant enginuity, has lifted the lowly truck up out of the tuck, the Laurel Paul Thompson. To Henry Ford, America’s Tin Lizzie, whose snappy little rough roadster is first in gear, first in pieces and first in the garage of its country-