Life, 1908-10-15 · page 28 of 28
Life — October 15, 1908 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page promotes Prophy-lactic brushes—toothbrushes, hairbrushes, dental plate brushes, military brushes, and hand brushes—manufactured by the Florence Manufacturing Company in Massachusetts. The advertisement targets *Life* magazine's readers with claims of quality and reliability. Notably, it emphasizes that hair and military brushes can be "perfectly sterilized in boiling water or steam," suggesting early 20th-century concerns about hygiene and sanitation (possibly wartime-related, given military brush mentions). The pricing structure—offering different sizes and grades, including "military" versions at higher prices—indicates market segmentation. The guarantee promise ("All Pro-phy-lac-tic Brushes are guaranteed") was a significant selling point for the era. No political satire or social commentary is present; this is straightforward commercial messaging typical of *Life*'s advertising content during its early decades.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
) Hi } THE WORLD’S STANDARD le BRUSHES The Prophy- fac-tic, Tooth Brush. is known and used by thousands of this magazine’s readers. It is oth brush pur evcedence—always sold ina yellow box—absolutely guarantecd, Adult's, youth's and children’s sizes, rigid or flexible handles; obtainable everywhere. Price: ’s 35c; youtl p child's 25¢. To use a flexible handle Pro-phy-lac-tic once is to use iCalways, The same combination of knowledge and skill in brush manufacture which made possible the Pro-phy-lac-tic Tooth Brush has produced the Pro-phy-lac-tic Hair, Military, Hand and Dental Plate Brushes shown and described on this page. r ae fa tt 4 The ¢ rophy lactic, Sterilization The Prophy- fact ic, Hair Brushes Al Pro-phy-lacetic Hair, Mili- Hand Brush Regular and Military style Made for the tary and Hand hes can A stalwart member of the Pro-phy-lac-tic hardest p ervice. Chemically treated | perfectly sterilized in boili Faniii Pevetically indestuctible Voi aan Sina Saeks Suaran less mt water or steam, A test sit be Ti feartily recommend this brush to $0 SAND OF SPHE Seceted Drisucs 4 other brushes in the world will | your friends after you have used one sceured in untarnishable aluminum, successfull stan 1 , 1 I ain uccessfully withstand, ‘ourself Price Sts60 + Regular $1.50 and $2.00; ) Military: $3.00 and $4.00 per pair. rophy-fac-tic Denial Plate} The Prophy- lactic, Koatanites rush Al Pro-phy-I 23 : and if defective Absolutely necessary for the proper care and cleansing of arti your dealer wi F © We stand be ae him, If your ficial teeth which must be clean to be comfortable. Price 35¢. | dealer is a 5 yany of these brushes, we will scil you direct, postpaid, at reg Send postal for interesting Pro-phy-lac-tic literature, giving detailed description of these brushes. FLORENCE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 187 Pine Street, Florence, Mass.