Life, 1908-10-08 · page 19 of 24
Life — October 8, 1908 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **funeral casket advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The Springfield Metallic Casket Company uses emotional appeals about death and burial preservation to market their product. The "joke" or persuasive angle: the ad acknowledges a modern anxiety—fear that bodies will decompose or be desecrated—then positions their indestructible bronze caskets as a solution now affordable for ordinary families, not just Egyptian pharaohs. The reference to the Great Pyramid at Giza evokes ancient preservation methods, implying their product offers comparable protection. The text explicitly states caskets bring dignity and "protection within the reach of all," converting a morbid concern into a commercial opportunity. By 1908 (patent date visible), this represented aggressive emotional marketing in a mass-circulation magazine, treating death reverence as a consumer good rather than purely a religious or family matter. It's advertisement, not editorial satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Sacred Forever HEN you stand at the grave and see the form of one you loved lowered into the ground, your whole being revolts. Deep enough is your grief at this parting never to be bridged. To this then comes the thought of the horrible violation from which your mind recoils. Yet you know what it willbe and you are powerless. It is a sacrilege—one that nations have striven for years to prevent —but it is no longer necessary, for it is now within your power to have the body lie inviolate. In former times it was only within a nation’s power to fittingly preserve the body of a beloved ruler. Only a great Egyptian king could have a pyr- Great Spraiid ob Chreek amid to guard his tomb. Private families could pay but small respect. The Springfield Metallic Caskets are indestructible. They are made of bronze, of cast metal and of steel. They bring protection within the reach of all. Their simple beauty is impressive and lends dignity to the last rites. Make the final tribute worthy of your love. We will send to all who write ‘“The Final Tribute,” telling of the efforts of all peoples, even savages, to preserve the bodies of their dead. The Springfield Metallic Casket Co. Springfield, Obio The Springheld Bronze Casket, the Most Perfect Burial Receplacle Known, U.S, Letters Patent Sept, 13, 1598,