The Theater's Most Unusual Prize Competition
A Seattle theater manager plans a competition to crown the 'handsomest' baby and mother, with $1,000 in prizes on the line.
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Manager John F. Cordray, who was in Seattle last week, has perfected arrangements to open a prize baby show in the auditorium of his theater in a few days. Prizes aggregating $1,000 will be awarded for babies meeting the requirements of the popular voters. The competition will be open to all, with the restrictions being babies under two years of age and that their mothers shall be residents of Seattle or its close vicinity. Instead of appointing judges, Cordray has decided to make the award by popular vote; every purchaser of a ticket to the show and theater will have a casting vote. The exhibition will be under the personal supervision of Mr. Cordray, who has had more experience with baby shows than any other man in the world. Excellent booths and accommodations will be provided for mothers and babies. There will be no additional charge made to see the baby show, which will be held for two hours before the commencement of every performance. Prizes include $500 for quadruplets, $100 for triplets, $50 for twins, and various awards for handsomest baby, mother, and nurse.
“Instead of appointing judges to decide the merits of the several competitors, Mr. Cordray has decided to make the award by popular vote.”
While baby shows were a common staple of early 20th-century entertainment, today's focus on child safety and privacy makes the idea of putting infants to a public 'popularity contest' in a theater lobby seem startlingly quaint. Cordray’s theater was a major center for local culture before the advent of film, mirroring the era's reliance on elaborate, in-person civic spectacle to drive ticket sales.
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