Life, 1889-09-19 · page 18 of 18
Life — September 19, 1889 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **primarily a commercial advertising page**, not a satirical cartoon. The page is dominated by period product advertisements for luxury and health goods typical of the late 1880s. **Key advertisements include:** - **Decker Brothers Pianos** and **Delbbeck champagne** (1884 vintage)—luxury consumer goods for the wealthy - **Pears' Soap**—with a moralizing message about feminine beauty and "personal attractions," warning that artificially colored soaps are "frequently poisonous" - **Patent medicines**: Fred Brown's Ginger (for cramps/colic), Bradycrotine (headache remedy, "absolutely harmless") - **Burt & Packard shoes**—positioned as superior to "cheap" alternatives, emphasizing proper foot support **Social context**: These ads reflect Gilded Age consumer culture and widespread faith in patent medicines and branded products. The heavy emphasis on feminine beauty, soap composition, and health tonics shows Victorian anxieties about appearance, purity, and wellness. There is **no political satire evident**—this appears to be Life functioning as a conventional magazine rather than as social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BROTHERS’ E R MATCHLESS PIANOS 33 Union Square, N. Y. OF THE FAMOUS 1884 VINTAGE. GOLD MEDAL, PARIS, 1878. W. BAKER & CO.’S Breakfast Cocoa Is absciutely pure and it is soluble. No Chemicals It has more sof Cocoa Sold by Grocers everywhere. W. BAKER & CO., Dorchester, Mass. HOW TO MAKE | PE NTONst OOD ‘MFG: Gc ~ WAINSCOTINGS & CEILINGS: oe ESTIMATES GIVEN WITHOUT CHA QOD GARPETING- + BORDERS ree RUGS. PATTERNS & PRICES. ON APPLICATION; [SEPr. 19, 1889, PERSONAL. ATTRACTIONS. Nothing adds so much to personal attractions as a bright, clear complexion and a soft skin. Without them the handsomest and most regular features but coldly impressive, st with them the pls | come there is no easily secured. use of a properly prepared Soap is one of the chief means; but the public have not the requisite knowledge of the manufacture of Soap to guide them to a proper selection, so a pretty box, a | pretty color, or an agreeable perfume too frequently out- | weigh the more important / consideration, the composition of the Soap itself, and thus many a good HAVE You USED complexion is marred which would be enhanced by proper care. Artificially Colored Soaps are frequently poisonous. The sale of Pears’ Soap is now universal, but beware of PEARS’ SOAP, the best of all soaps, insu clear, wholesome and beautiful complexion. And it should be remembered that Pears’ Shaving Stick is the best shaving soap. Freo. BROWNS GINGER? cai. BRADYCROTINE @ Pa TiS Taduoeg ta Meaithe Sesh rest be- and advantage so attractive ; yet The regular viz.: Will Cure every form of the HEADACHE and is good for nothing else. Bradycrotine Mfg. Co., Macon, Georgia. ABSOLUTELY, HARMLESS. Ing the fat: producing etcets CORPUS LEAN Ge, 19 stamps for selon L |The Burt & Packard Shoe Conforma to Shape of the Foot hat every palr ts etamped fort parts Shape." Spoil your Feet with oRING Cheap ne, Burt & Pack none approach tt én Hand-tnades Hand-w | and your address to PACKARD & FIELD, (oaccessots $2 Brockton, Mass. Shoes: Wear the Burt & Pilbara 6K Opp eek Shape.” Press of Fleming, Brewster & Alley, New Vous RaneaRincai| Suess we | ey comicbooks.com