Life, 1909-09-16 · page 4 of 32
Life — September 16, 1909 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising, not satire**. It features an Ivory Soap advertisement for cleaning diamond rings. The image shows a well-dressed woman seated at a vanity mirror, examining her jewelry. The ad credits "the wife of a famous artist" as the source of cleaning advice: soak diamonds overnight in Ivory Soap and water, then rinse with hot water. The text emphasizes Ivory Soap's purity (99 44/100% pure) and claims it has "hundreds of uses, not generally known." The jewelry-cleaning tip serves as a testimonial to establish the soap's gentleness and effectiveness beyond typical bathing uses. There is **no political commentary or satire present**—this is straightforward early 20th-century product marketing using a domestic scenario and celebrity endorsement to promote consumer goods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
To CLEAN DIAMOND RINGS. The wife of a famous artist writes us that, in her opinion, the best way to clean diamonds is to “soak them over night in a bowlful of Ivory Soap and water. Shavings of the soap dropped into warm water are best. In the morning, rinse thoroughly with hot water, and Pehold! they are as bright as when received from the jewelers.” Try it! Nowadays, pretty nearly everybody realizes that Ivory is the best—because the purest—of bath, toilet and fine laundry soaps. It is more than that. Because of its purity, it is available for scores—yes, hundreds —of uses, not generally known. The cleaning of jewelry, referred to in this advertisement, is a case in point. Ivory Soap » e » 2699%460 Per Cent. Pure. comicbooks.com