Life, 1903-12-10 · page 39 of 58
Life — December 10, 1903 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily an **advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes decorative porcelain plaques featuring the "Gibson Girl"—iconic illustrations by Charles Dana Gibson, a renowned artist for *Life* magazine. The advertisement sells two product lines: twelve different head designs at 75 cents each, and twenty-four plate subjects at 50 cents each. These were produced by burning Gibson's original pen drawings onto Doulton Porcelain dinnerware without losing detail. The single illustrated head shown exemplifies Gibson's style: a fashionable woman in profile with wavy hair, representing the idealized "Gibson Girl" aesthetic that dominated American popular culture in the early 1900s. This look—elegant, refined, aspirational—appealed to middle-class consumers. Rather than satire, this is **straightforward commercial marketing**, leveraging Gibson's artistic fame and *Life* magazine's prestige to sell home décor. The products were available at department and crockery stores, or by mail order.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
i estos pecbesde Totes Geobeeds Genbeads Toole ogee hesbests Stach osha techs desbnds Geubets Tatas Pevdeotecenfeobecerinsbebeeber ee Copyright Uy Life Pub ning Ce. Gibson Heads on China Plaques. Twelve different head subjects on wall plaques with blue lover's knot decoration at 75 cents each. These exquisite reproductions of LIFE’S distinguished artist, Charles Dana Gibson, as well as the 24 plate subjects, at 50 cents each, are burnt into the finest Doulton Porcelain without losing a single pen-stroke of the original drawings from which the subjects are taken. Can be purchased at all Crockery and Department stores, or will be sent upon receipt of price, with 25 cents extra for expressage. Book of 24 Gibson drawings sent for 6 cents in stamps. Antistic panel showing 12 Gibson Heads in Half-tone—10 cents. George F. Bassett & Co., Dept. U, 49 Barclay Street, New York City. comicbooks.com