Judge, 1927-04-30 · page 21 of 36
Judge — April 30, 1927 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of humor: **Top cartoon (by Perelman):** A satirical story about a male writer using a female pseudonym ("Anita Loos") and having an illustrator (Ralph Barton) take credit for drawings, published under a fake publisher name. The joke mocks the absurdity of literary deception and gender masquerade in publishing—the narrator is so desperate to hide that he writes books that he'll adopt a woman's identity to avoid social embarrassment. **Middle cartoon:** A domestic joke about a plumber's reluctance to carry equipment, playing on working-class attitudes about labor. **Bottom section:** An advertisement for "The Perfect Automobile" that humorously uses superlatives ("no equal," "never been excelled") while promising practical features like brakes and financing—typical early automotive advertising hyperbole. The final snippet appears to be a romantic joke about a woman demanding physical action rather than verbal declarations. The page reflects 1920s-era concerns about gender, publishing, class, and consumer culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE “Oh,” said Doubleday, “well, now, that’s different! Why didn’t you tell me that right away?” I blushed and hesitated. ‘Well, Doubleday, you know how people are; there'd be all sorts of talk if they knew I wrote books.” “Well, Walsh,” said Double- day, “I'll tell you what: we'll publish your book, but we'll call you Anita Loos and we'll say that Ralph Barton or somebody drew the pictures. How’s that?” “That’s bully!’ I shouted, throwing my cap into the air. “Now nobody can accuse me of writing books! Oh, my, won't it be a lark? Won't it, though?” “You bet, Walsh!” said Dou- bleday, his eyes alight with en- thusiasm, “‘and just to throw them off the track, we'll say that the book was published by Boni & Liveright!” And, of course, the rest is his- tory, how the book was sup- P d and burned in Times Square and how they tortured brave little Anita Loos to make her give up her secret. Oh, how far away it all seems as I look at this faded roseleaf pressed be- tween the pages of this prayer- book! —PeERELMAN Piumper—What you need is a new washer. “And did you bring one?” “Bring one! D’you expect me to make a pacl:-horse of my- self?” —stop me. The Perfect Automobile At last the perfect automobile is on sale. It will give ‘more miles per gallon” than any other automobile. Its smooth riding qualities beat those of any other automobile on the market. It has no equal for good taste, grace and ease in handling. Four wheel brakes, balloon tires and spotlight are all included for the new low pri The never been excelled. A good allowance is promised for the old bus, and terms can ily be arranged. See any automobile dealer for system has ed further details and demonstra- t tion. —E. Guitpert FS “T love you. I love you. I love you.” “Well, how about some action?” comicbooks.com