Judge, 1927-10-15 · page 67 of 68
Judge — October 15, 1927 — page 67: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical advertisement disguised as editorial content. The piece mocks both idle workers and dubious self-help schemes. **The Satire:** Oscar Whimpersniff is a fictional everyman who wastes decades in spare time on pointless hobbies (testing alarm clocks, repairing buggy whips). His only success comes selling "Judge" subscriptions at age sixty—but his reward is institutionalization ("padded cell"), implying he's driven mad by success or that the publication itself is worthless. **The Meta-Joke:** Judge then directly addresses readers, asking if they have spare time and money troubles, before admitting their "weekly course" won't help—but you'll be too distracted by it to notice. This is self-aware mockery of contemporary mail-order courses and magazine subscriptions that promised success but delivered nothing. **Historical Context:** Early 20th-century American periodicals frequently ran such schemes. Judge is simultaneously satirizing the culture of self-improvement fraud while participating in it, revealing the magazine's own cynical business practices to its readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What do you do with your spare time? That is the secret of most failures—too much spare time! Take the case of Oscar Whimpersniff, pictured at the right. For years Mr. Whimper- sniff was considered a failure. During his spare time he tested old alarm clocks. Later he repaired buggy whips and once secured employment as a chew- ing-gum taster. He also com- plained of broken arches. But did it get him anywhere? Oh, no; it didn’t get him anywhere. Some times people would ask Mr. Whimpersniff what he did with his spare time. He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell his spare time from any other time. However, at the age of sixty, Mr. Whimpersniff began to sell Jupce. Up to this time he had never tried to use his spare time. The first day he brought in an order for 100,000 subscriptions. The second day he increased his sale to half a million. The com- JUDGE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc. 627 West 43d St., New York Send me Jupce for: 21 weeks. City.. State. What About Your Spare Time? pany then sent him on a per- manent vacation where he now spends his time in gentle con- templation in his big airy padded cell. What do you do with your spare time? Would you like to make some money? Does time hang heavy on your hands? Have you spots before your eyesP | WE THOUGHT SO Hastily send us this coupon with the trifling sum indicated. Our weekly course will not help you any, but you won’t mind the spare time so much. comicbooks.com