Life, 1908-06-11 · page 20 of 20
Life — June 11, 1908 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an advertisement, not a cartoon. It promotes Cuban cigarettes made by Henry Clay & Bock & Co., dated June 11, 1908. The ad addresses a specific historical context: U.S. tariffs on imported Cuban cigars were prohibitively expensive. The manufacturer's solution was to roll these cigarettes *in America* using Cuban tobacco, thereby avoiding the import duty while claiming to preserve the authentic taste and aroma of imported products. The two brand names shown—"Henry Clay" and "Bock y Ca" (Bock y Compañía)—represent the company's offerings. The tagline "Satisfaction Without Inhaling" is oddly phrased for modern readers but reflects early-20th-century marketing addressing health concerns about smoking. The "Thirty Years' Success in Cuba" references the company's established reputation, lending credibility to a domestically-manufactured alternative to costly imports.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GIGARETTES aa TSP AO WITHOUT INHALING Made of the finest types of Havana Tobacco, selected and blended under the direc- tion of Gustavo Bock, an expert with 30 years’ experi- ence in making Cuban cig- arettes, HENRY CLAY Tes ert am rolled in this country to avoid the prohibitive duty, and have the same exquisite taste and aroma as the imported article. —Henry Cray & Bock & Co., Ltd. Pectoral Paper, Cork Tip 15 cents per package of 10 2 packages for 25 cents | BOCK Y CA Also packed in 50’s and 100’s Rice Paper, Cork Tip Backed by Thirty Years’ Success in Cuba comicbooks.com