Life, 1894-05-10 · page 15 of 16
Life — May 10, 1894 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon but rather a **full-page advertisement** for Gorham Manufacturing Company, a silversmith firm located on Broadway and 19th Street (New York). The ad promotes silver wedding gifts as foundational purchases for family heirlooms. It emphasizes that buyers should seek not just the "Sterling" stamp but the **Gorham Trade-Mark**, which the company claims guarantees superior quality and craftsmanship after rigorous testing. The phrase "The Family Silver" plays on the expression "selling the family silver"—a metaphor for liquidating inherited assets. Here, Gorham inverts it: their products *become* the family silver passed down through generations. For modern readers, this reflects early 20th-century consumer marketing: emphasizing brand reputation, quality assurance, and emotional/aspirational value (heirlooms) rather than price. The ad targets middle-to-upper-class wedding gift-givers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“The Family Silver.” Silver Wedding Presents form the foundation of the family silver for future generations. Intending purchasers will see the desirability of governing their selections not merely by the stamp “¢Sterling’’ but by a mark that is recognized through- out the world as a guarantee of the highest character that the article so marked is absolutely jg fine, and in every respect an example of the best workmanship. The “Gorham Trade-Mark” has won this distinction, and their imprint is never applied to an article until it has successfully passed the severest scrutiny’ and test, and is in every way qualified to bear their stamp. Gorham M’f’g Co., SILVERSMITHS, Broadway and 19th Street. comicbooks.com