Life — April 7, 1904 — page 40: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is an **advertisement for Veribest Canned Meats** by Armour & Company, not political satire. The headline "Do not Pass Me-Buy" is a pun on the Monopoly game phrase "Do not pass Go." The image depicts a cheerful woman in period costume with an enormous bonnet, displaying stacked canned goods (ham loaf, pork and beans, ox tongue, corned beef, etc.). The visual joke relies on the woman's exaggerated features and clothing to make the products memorable and appealing. This is straightforward **commercial advertising** from the 1920s, using humor and an eye-catching illustration to promote convenient, shelf-stable meat products—a major selling point in the pre-refrigeration era. There is no political commentary present.