Life, 1905-09-07 · page 42 of 42
Life — September 7, 1905 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a commercial advertisement, not satire. It promotes Shredded Wheat cereal by contrasting whole wheat products against refined white flour. The ad features a woman in period dress holding a box of Shredded Wheat, positioned as an endorsement. The central claim attacks white flour as nutritionally deficient—containing only starch while lacking "body-building elements" needed for "brain or muscle." The list of promised benefits (good digestion, strong muscles, clear complexion, bright eyes, etc.) reflects early 1900s health marketing, when whole-grain foods were promoted as scientifically superior to refined carbohydrates. The company emphasizes their product is "untreated" and "pure"—marketing language addressing consumer concerns about food adulteration, a significant issue at that time. This represents period advertising that makes health claims now considered exaggerated or unsupported.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 7, 1905, “It's All in the Shreds"’— GOOD DIGESTION STRONG MUSCLES CLEAR COMPLEXION BRIGHT EYES SOUND TEETH SWEET BREATH CLEAR BRAIN PERFECT HEALTH NEW LIFE The white flour miller gives you only the starch in the wheat. In SHREDDED WHEAT you have all ——_ the body-building elements of the whole wheat berry pre- sented in digestible form. You can’t build brain or muscle with white flour. THERE’S NO STAMINA IN STARCH. @ Shredded Wheat is not “treated” or “flavored” with anything —it is the whole wheat and nothing but the wheat—the cleanest and purest cereal food made. It is made in two forms— BISCUIT and TRISCUIT. The Biscuit is delicious for breakfast with hot or cold milk or cream or for any other meal in combination with fruits or vegetables. Triscuit is the shredded whole wheat cracker which takes the place of white flour bread; delicious as a toast with butter or with cheese or preserves. THE NATURAL FOOD COMPANY Niagara Falls, N. Y. PRESS OF THE J. W. PRATT CO., NEW YORK, comicbooks.com