Life, 1908-08-27 · page 20 of 20
Life — August 27, 1908 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a straightforward **advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. Pall Mall cigarettes promotes their availability on luxury transatlantic steamships—major vessels like the *Lusitania* and *Mauretania* serving wealthy travelers between Europe and America. The ad emphasizes prestige by listing prestigious shipping lines (White Star, Cunard, Red Star) and highlights a practical selling point: cigarettes are hermetically sealed in tin to protect them from ocean moisture during transit, arriving in perfect condition. The tagline "A Shilling in London / A Quarter Here" notes the price difference between markets. The coat-of-arms symbol reinforces the product's upscale positioning. This reflects early 20th-century consumer culture when international travel was luxury entertainment for the wealthy, and cigarette smoking was socially acceptable and heavily advertised.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FALL MALL FAMOUS CIGARETTES @ The proprietors take pleasure in announcing to their many patrons traveling abroad that these famous cigarettes can now be obtained on board the following steamships: Mauretania Lusitania Adriatic Amerika Baltic Deutschland Lucania St Paul Carmania Oceanic Rotterdam Cedric St Louis Minnetonka New York Campania Teutonic Philadelphia — Caronia Minnehaha Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Majestic | Zeeland and on board all the first-class steamers of the White Star, Cunard, Red Star, American, Atlantic Transport, Hamburg- American and Holland-America Lines. @ Owing to the effect of the moist, salt air of the ocean on tobaccos, the PALL MALL FAMOUS CIGARETTES sold on board these steamships have been specially packed in hermetically sealed tin cartons, and will therefore reach the consumer in the same state of excellence as on land. “A Shilling in London A Quarter Here” Either on Board comicbooks.com