Life, 1908-02-20 · page 19 of 24
Life — February 20, 1908 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **beauty product advertisement**, not satire or political content. It promotes Pompeian Massage Cream to female readers. The ad uses guilt-based messaging typical of early 20th-century marketing: it suggests wives have lost their youthful beauty due to household duties and child-rearing, implying this makes them less attractive to husbands ("Is she as fair and fresh as the day you were married?"). The solution—applying the cream—will restore "youthful charm" and prevent aging signs like wrinkles, sagging skin, and double chins. The illustration shows an idealized bride in wedding attire, contrasting the youthful appearance women supposedly lose through domestic life. The ad encourages husbands to direct wives and daughters to the product, reflecting the era's paternalistic attitudes about women's appearance as a marital obligation. There is no political cartoon here—this is straightforward commercial messaging that reveals period attitudes about women, aging, beauty standards, and consumerism rather than offering satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Is she as fair and fresh as the day you were married? If not, it is probably because she neglected to care for her skin. Household and social cares, and family duties incident to the rearing of children, have left lines on her face and robbed her of the bloom of her youth. She can regain much of her youthful charm, and your daughters also can discover how to outwit Father Time, if you will call their attention to this advertise- ment and ask them to write for our 16-page illustrated booklet. We send it with our free sample. Either fill out coupon yourself zow before you lay this magazine aside or call it to the attention of the other members of your family. POMPEIAN Massage Cream It Gives a Clear, Fresh, Velvety Skin Wrinkles and crow’s-feet are driven away, sallowness vanishes, angles are rounded out and double-chins re- duced by its use. Thus the clear, fresh complexion, the smooth skin and the curvesof cheek and chin that go with youth, may be retained past mid- . dle age by the woman who has found ** what Pompeian Massage Cream will do. Por peick This is not a “cold” or “grease” cream. The Mfg. Co. latter have their uses, yet they can never do the work of a massage cream os Ersepet Street like Pompeian. Grease creams fill the pores. Pompeian Massage Cott Cream cleanses them by taking out all foreign matter that causes 5°" cena, cumat cot tone, blackheads, sallowness, shiny complexions, etc. Pompeian Massage Cream is the iv one copy of your book on largest selling face cream in the world, 10,000 jars being made and sold daily. & eatcinat Foxpsian ‘sasaze TEST IT WITH FREE SAMPLE. Also our illustrated book on Facial Massage, an invaluable guide for the proper _.s* care of the skin. 50 cts. or $1 a jar, sent postpaid to any part of the world, on receipt of price, if your dealer hasn't it. THE POMPEIAN MFG. CO., 25 Prospect Street, Cleveland, O. Be Ka ioe. Pompeian Massage Soap is appreciated by all who are particular in regard to the quality of the soap they use. For sale by all dealers—25c. a cake; box of 3 cakes, 60c. Cream. 20s comicbooks.com