Judge, 1928-05-19 · page 6 of 36
Judge — May 19, 1928 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising disguised as satire** for the Tome-of-the-Month Club, promoting their selection of the 1928 *Sears-Roebuck Catalogue*. The humor mocks both the book club concept and intellectual pretension. The five caricatured men at bottom—Christopher Whimsey, Joseph Wooden Crutches, Henry Seidle Beer, Heywood Bruin, and William Allen Black—appear to be **fictional "judges"** whose ridiculous names underscore the absurdity of the selection process. The "Five Reasons" section sarcastically claims members needn't actually read selections or possess taste; the visible book on the table serves purely as a status symbol. This satirizes the real Tome-of-the-Month Club's marketing, which promised cultural sophistication to middle-class subscribers. By substituting a catalogue for serious literature, Judge critiques both the club's pretensions and its members' willingness to purchase respectability rather than genuine intellectual engagement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What is the The Tome-of-the-Month Club has selected The Sears-Roebuck Catalogue as the out- standing literary work of the month! After reading three hundred and sixty-five volumes, including “Who's Who,” “Funk & Wagnall’s Dictionary,” “Birdsall’s Seed Catalogue,” and “Only a Boy,” our ex- tinguished Selection Committee have decided that you should read this book. You are not compelled willy-nilly, or upsie- daddy, to accept this selection and if it doesn’t appeal to you, Judge Jr. will be only too glad to send you his wonderful little book of drink recipes, “Here’s How!” upon receipt of a dollar. Next Book? Five Reasons Why You Should Belong to the Tome-of-the-Month Club 1. You haven’t the brains to pick out your own book. Let us do it. 2. Our books, bound in special Tome-of-the- Month Club bindings, will stamp you im- mediately as a cultivated sheep. 3. You will be the first in your community to be able to say, “Yes, the Tome-of-the-Month Club told me to read that book.” 4. You don’t have to read the book! If it is on your library table the iceman and the minister will know immediately that you are a person of cultivated taste. 5. It doesn’t make any difference if you can’t read. We'll send the book to you anyway. The Selecting Committee of the Tome-of-the-Month Club - me — Joseph , Henry William Christopher Syste, ‘Sure Heywood pits imsey Crutches Beer Bruin Black comicbooks.com