Life, 1902-11-06 · page 24 of 24
Life — November 6, 1902 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The N.K. Fairbank Company promoted their "Fairy Soap" by offering a decorative calendar as a premium incentive. **The Offer:** Consumers who collected ten oval Fairy Soap box fronts (or sent ten two-cent stamps) received a set of five decorative plates, 9½ inches in diameter. One plate displayed the 1903 calendar; the other four featured portraits by English painter Ryland. **The Appeal:** Marketed as "Beautiful Home Decorations," these lithographed china plates with gold embossing were positioned as valuable collectibles worth over $1.00—a significant sum in 1903. The accompanying illustration shows a woman admiring the plates. **The Strategy:** This reflects early 20th-century **advertising by premium collectibles**—companies incentivized repeat purchases by offering desirable items, making soap-buying feel like acquiring fine art rather than a routine purchase.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
November 6,1292, AIRY PLATE. CALENDAR fer xe we ee Beautiful Home Decorations The new Fairy Plate Calendar for 1903 is the handsomest, as well as the most unique and artistic Calendar conception of the year. It consists of five the torm of hand-painted plates. The first plate bears the year's Calendar, while the other four are pertect lithographic rey yal Vienna china with beautiful heads by Ryland (the celebrated English painter) asa central feature. The plates are reproduce eIve colors and gold with the centers countersunk and the borders embossed. Each plate is complete in itself and le ready for k TI of the subjects and the exquisite manner in which they are reproduced makes these plates extremely valuable for decorative purposes. alendar and set of Art Plates would retail for at least $1.00. Size of Each Plate, 9% Inches in Diameter We will send you this beautiful Fairy Plate Calendar for ten Oval Fairy Box Fronts, Fairy Soap is the best and purest white Soap that money can buy. It is made from the choicest selected materials and is delightfully refreshing for the toilet and bath. Fairy Soap is oval in shape; fits every hand, fit for any hand. Fairy Soap costs but five cents at all grocers. ‘Each cake wrapped and packed in a separate box. If you prefer, instead of sending us the ten Oval Fairy Box Fronts, you may forward us ten two-cent stamps, giving full name and address, and we will immediately mail the Calendar to you postpaid. THE N. K. FAIRBANK COMPANY, Dept. 32, Chicago. comicbooks.com