Life, 1907-08-01 · page 35 of 48
Life — August 1, 1907 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Schlitz beer advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It appears in *Life* magazine and promotes beer as a health product—common marketing in the early 20th century before modern food and drug regulations. The ad makes health claims now considered absurd: beer as "food and a tonic" with beneficial components. It emphasizes **purity and aging** as Schlitz's competitive advantage, claiming superior filtration and sterilization prevent "biliousness" (digestive upset). The tagline "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" references the city's prominent brewing industry. The decorative hop illustrations reinforce the brewing theme. A note instructs buyers to verify authenticity via branded corks or crowns—suggesting counterfeit beer was a concern. Modern readers would recognize this as predatory health marketing that exploited lack of FDA oversight, presenting alcohol as medicinal rather than intoxicating.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PALAU EIS, 8 DS © Drink Beer 2 ———"_ As a food and a tonic. Every compo- nent in beer is good for you. But be sure it is pure, else harm will be mixed with its healthfulness. Beer aged insufficiently causes biliousness. That is why all Schlitz beer is aged for months in our cool- ing rooms. Beer that’s impure—not clean, not filtered, not prop- erly sterilized—should be avoided. That is why we spend more to insure absolute purity than we spend on anything else in our brewing. @ Ask for the Brewery Bottling. See that the cork or T h e B crown is branded Schlitz. eer That Made Milwaukee Famous. comicbooks.com