Life — February 17, 1887 — page 20: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily **a advertising page**, not political satire. It contains three product advertisements from the 1880s: 1. **Lewando's French Dyeing & Cleansing Establishment** (top left): A humorous illustrated ad showing a man climbing a "ladder" of social aspirations—ascending from poverty toward wealth and respectability. The joke: dry cleaning helps you ascend socially. 2. **Dainty Boots and Wood's Ladies Blacking** (top right): Shoe polish advertisements featuring illustrated women's boots. 3. **Lundborg's Perfumes** (bottom): The main ad shows a fashionable couple at what appears to be a park or social venue. The accompanying dialogue depicts a genteel conversation where one woman asks another about a perfume she noticed—a common advertising format of the era, using social endorsement to sell luxury goods. The overall page reflects **late-19th-century consumer culture**, emphasizing how commercial products promised social advancement and refined taste to aspirational middle-class readers.