Life, 1898-12-03 · page 39 of 40
Life — December 3, 1898 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a straightforward **advertisement**, not satire or political content. The American Waltham Watch Company promotes their product in *Life* magazine, likely from the early 1900s. The ad targets consumers directly, instructing them to **demand Waltham watches from jewelers** despite potential sales pressure for competitors. It emphasizes Waltham's market dominance: "the first American company" organized nearly fifty years prior, and currently leading in "quality and volume." The specific pitch highlights the "Riverside" movement as offering **"high quality and medium price"**—a middle-market positioning. The decorative ivy border and formal typography reflect the era's advertising aesthetic. There is **no cartoon or satire** here—simply commercial persuasion typical of early 20th-century magazine advertising, encouraging brand loyalty and direct consumer advocacy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WALTHAM WATCHES Ask your jeweler for a WaLTHAM watch and he will supply it, no matter if he happens to have personal prejudices in favor of some other. Insist upon having a WaLTHAM and no other.’ There are other American watches and other American watch companies, but none of them can make a WaLTHAM watch. The American Waltham Watch Company is the first American company; the first to be organ- ized (nearly half a century ago), and the first at the present time in the quality and volume of its product. _WaLTHAM watches are all good time-keepers—some of them better suited for one class of service, some for another. We particularly recommend the move- ment engraved with our trade-mark “Riverside,” as combining high quality and medium price. AMERICAN WaLTHAM WatTCH Co. - Waltham, Mass. For sale by all jewelers. comicbooks.com