Life, 1907-08-29 · page 24 of 24
Life — August 29, 1907 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **beer advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It's a Schlitz brewery ad from August 29, 1903, appearing in *Life* magazine. The page promotes Schlitz beer by framing beer consumption as healthful—positioning it as "a food and a tonic" where "every component...is good for you." This reflects early-1900s attitudes when beer was marketed for medicinal benefits. The ad's central argument targets competitors: Schlitz claims superiority through rigorous quality control—aging beer for months, ensuring purity through filtering and sterilization. The text emphasizes that impure beer causes "biliousness" (digestive illness), implying rival breweries cut corners. The ornamental design and prominent "Schlitz" signature convey premium branding. A note instructs buyers to verify authenticity by checking for "Schlitz" branding on cork or crown cap—suggesting counterfeit concerns. This represents pre-Prohibition advertising when beer marketing emphasized health claims now considered misleading.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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 crown is branded Schlitz. he Beer. That Made Milwaukee Famous., comicbooks.com