Judge — November 4, 1916 — page 32: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **Cook's Imperial champagne advertisement**, not political satire. The ad promotes Cook's as an "all-American Champagne" made by the American Wine Company in St. Louis. The illustration depicts a festive party scene with well-dressed revelers enjoying champagne—a man in a tuxedo and woman in an evening gown dancing or celebrating, with musicians, bubbles, and grapes scattered around. The large champagne bottle dominates the left side. The copy uses poetic language ("souls of grapes touched laughingly by the hand of time") to market the product as sophisticated and pleasurable. The phrase "It knows no duty but to please you" emphasizes luxury and satisfaction. This appears to be from the Prohibition era or just after (based on the emphasis on legal American wine production), when domestic champagne producers competed heavily with imported French versions.