Life, 1909-12-02 · page 78 of 80
Life — December 2, 1909 — page 78: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire or a cartoon. It promotes Rubberset brand shaving brushes in Life magazine. The page uses technical illustration and persuasive copy to highlight the product's construction method—bristles embedded in vulcanized rubber rather than traditional approaches. A cross-section diagram and side-view of the brush dominate the layout, with a small figure of a man included for scale comparison, emphasizing the brush's substantial size. The ad's appeal targets middle-class male consumers by promising durability ("a lifetime"), quality materials (badger hair, ivory handles), and affordability across price points (25¢ to over $1). The repeated phrase "inside facts" and technical language ("vulcanized rubber," "patents") suggest competitive advertising warfare—assuring buyers that Rubberset's patented construction method is superior and inimitable. This reflects early 20th-century advertising strategies emphasizing manufacturing innovation and scientific superiority to justify premium pricing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
See the photographic likeness of a cross-section shown in the picture. Note the extra length of the bristles, sunk deeply into a bed of vulcanized rubber, from which no bristle is ever to part. No other method in all the arts of brush-making holds permanently or defies destruction like the RUBBERSET con- struction. There can be no other like it. We have patents | that guarantee this. Buy one RUBBERSET Brush for a lifetime. Pay enough to insure that it’s Badger Hair. Badger Hair retains its full- ness, softness and cleanliness after constant usage. RUBBERSET Shaving Brushes selling for $1 and over have Badger Hair and handles of ALBRIGHT IVORY, a composition of indestructible quality, that retains its clean- cut, bright color, smooth finish, through endless service. eesRin mind one all-important fact—whether you pay 25c. for your RUBBERSET Brush or many times that price—for the line is big and the range of prices is broad—the bristles are gripped in hard, vulcanized rubber, and are there to stay. The best brush should have the best soap, so try your next shave with BERSET SHAVING CREAM. A lather | that quickens the shave, softens the beard and soothes the face. A25c. tube lasts the average shaver a year. RUBBERSET Shaving Brushes and BERSET Shaving Cream are on sale at DRUGGISTS, HARDWARE and GENERAL STORES, If not at your dealer's send for fully illustrated catalogue and der direct. ‘ei rae mate RUBBERSET COMPANY New York Salesrooms Factories and Laboratories $0 CHURCH STRELT NEWARK, N. J. dy the “Inside Facts” Each bristle gripped in hard vulcanized rubber comicbooks.com