Life, 1909-11-18 · page 6 of 36
Life — November 18, 1909 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising copy, not satire or political commentary**. The page promotes Ivory Soap with cleaning instructions for hardwood floors and rugs. The image shows a woman in early 20th-century dress sitting and tending to her child's feet or legs, with flowers visible nearby. The accompanying text captures period attitudes about housekeeping: the "woman of today" supposedly desires hardwood floors and rugs, and the ad provides detailed cleaning methods using Ivory Soap and lukewarm water. The piece reflects **contemporary gender roles and domesticity** — presenting household cleaning as women's primary concern and expertise. The emphasis on purity ("99 44/100 Per Cent. Pure") was Ivory Soap's actual marketing slogan. This represents typical early 1900s advertising normalizing women's domestic labor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“GIVE ME HARDWOOD FLOORS AND RUGS,” says the woman of today. But even hardwood floors need to be cared for. To look their best, they must be clean. The best way to clean them is this: Make a suds of Ivory Soap and lukewarm (not hot) water. Apply with a soft cloth or sponge. Rub briskly. Wipe off with clear, cold water. Rub dry with a soft cloth or chamois skin. As for rugs: First, sweep with a broom, (or, in the case of a domestic rug, beat and shake) until all the dust is removed. Then lay the rug on the floor. Make a stiff lather of Ivory Soap and warm water (half a cake of Ivory will make a bucket of lather) and scrub the rug, width by width. Wipe with a clean, damp sponge. Use very little water. Ivory Soap . . . . 9944460 Per Cent. Pure. comicbooks.com