Life, 1903-05-21 · page 21 of 24
Life — May 21, 1903 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertisement page** from Life magazine, not a political cartoon. It contains five product ads typical of early 20th-century publications: 1. **Pabst Blue Ribbon beer** — emphasizes purity and quality ingredients (barley, hops, water, plant) 2. **White Rock** — a mineral water marketed as "exclusive" 3. **Old Crow Rye whiskey** — claims superiority 4. **Dr. Siegert's Angostura Bitters** — positioned as a medicinal tonic from Trinidad 5. **Du-mi-ny champagne** — marketed as "highest type" 6. A book advertisement for medical/health advice The page reflects **turn-of-the-century consumer culture**: alcohol and patent medicines were heavily advertised alongside health claims. Note the medical language ("tonic," "gout & rheumatism") — bitters and tonics were sold as cure-alls before strict FDA regulations. No satire or political commentary is present; this is straightforward period advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Every bottle of genuine Pabst Blue Ribbon bears the trade-mark “P ab st Milwaukee” in a red circle. n the making O a st Jeer e arley 1S right e hops are right e water is rl ht he plant 1s right that’s why Pabst beer 18 always pure. WHITE ROCK The | selection of the most exclusive * GOUT & RHEUMATISM Ueatte Great English Remed: =P ere il 182 | Che final word, DR SIEGE! IEGERT'S on a subject of vital MEDA apeerens ANCOSTURA page cal BITTERS The Worlds Best Tonic Imported from Trinidad BWI DEPT. Y., PHILADELP! THE ONLY GENUINE of French Champagne CODMAN & HALL CO., Agta, Bostox, Mass, comicbooks.com