Life, 1909-08-05 · page 44 of 44
Life — August 5, 1909 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It uses humor to sell toilet powder by mocking women's sun-damaged complexions from summer vacation. The image shows two women's heads emerging from water, captioned "The Queen of the Surf"—a satirical title suggesting that vacation beauty comes at a cost. The joke: a woman who spends summer at the beach gains a suntan and weathered skin, ruining her complexion. The solution: Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder, marketed as a remedy for sunburn, prickly heat, and skin roughness. The ad also promotes related Mennen's products (violet-scented powder, skin soap, Oriental-scented powder) and emphasizes value—mocking "cheap powder in a pretty box that you'll have to throw away." Published August 5, 1906, this reflects early-20th-century beauty standards: pale skin was desirable for women; tanned skin suggested lower-class outdoor labor, making this product aspirational for middle-class consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
sa **The Queen of the Surf’’ makes a sorry sovereign of the social season, with complexion ruined by the sun and wind of vacation days. The use of Mennen’s alter the bath, and daily, will jate the trouble, MENNEN’S riitun TOILET POWDER is an absolutely pure, high grade toilet powder which not only heals the skin, but soothes the skin; not only hides all skin roughness and rawness, but heals them, Mennen’s relieve: events Prickly a Sunburn, and all skin troubles of summer, After bathing and alter shaving it is delightful, in the nursery indispensable. Sample Free. pu use the toilet poder and throw away | 7 the box. Don't throw away money on cheap ponder in a pretty box that you'll have to throw away. | Try MENNEN’S Borated VIOLET Talcum MENNEN’S BORATED SKIN SOAP (blue TOILET POWDER, which has the scent wrapper). Speciallylprepared for the nursery | No of fresh-cut Parma violets. Sample Free. . amples Look for the Face on our Special Non-RefillableBox— MENNEN’S SEN YANG TOILET P' ow. | pA the “BOX THAT LOX.” DER, Oriental Odor Sold for 25 Cents Everywhere or by Mail Goaranteed by the Gerhard Mennea Chemical Co., under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1906 Serial No. 1542 GERHARD MENNEN COMPA: + 86 Orange Street, NEWARK, N. J. comicbooks.com