Life, 1905-03-09 · page 22 of 22
Life — March 9, 1905 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **beer advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Schlitz Beer, a major Milwaukee brewery brand, emphasizing "purity" as its distinguishing feature—a key marketing claim for breweries in the early 20th century. The ad highlights manufacturing practices: premium ingredients (barley, hops, yeast), extended aging to prevent digestive problems ("biliousness"), and overall purity. This reflects contemporary concerns about food safety and quality control, when beer's healthfulness was genuinely advertised as a selling point. The ornate Art Nouveau border and bold typography are typical of the era's design. "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" was Schlitz's actual slogan, positioning the brewery as Milwaukee's most prominent industry during America's brewing boom.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- above everything— distinguishes Schlitz Beer from the common. There’s a difference, of course, in the barley, the hops, the yeast. We use the costliest materials. We age the beer for months to prevent bilious- ness. But the healthfulness of See that the cor mainly due to its purity. The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous.