Life, 1910-03-03 · page 49 of 80
Life — March 3, 1910 — page 49: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes "Onyx" brand hosiery (socks and stockings) distributed by Lord & Taylor in New York. The illustration shows a woman at a desk, presumably a satisfied customer or representative endorsing the product. The ad's messaging emphasizes quality assurance and brand trust—repeating the word "believe" to establish confidence in the product's safety and construction. The satire, if any, is subtle and typical of early 20th-century advertising: the company uses language about "Hosiery Honesty" and "safe-mark of identification" to suggest competitors' products may be unsafe or dishonest by comparison. The repeated assertions about quality and vigilant guarding imply that without the "Onyx" trademark, consumers risk purchasing defective hosiery. This reflects an era when branded goods were becoming competitive and manufacturers used advertising to differentiate themselves through claims of superior safety and reliability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Only Safe Hose to Buy. We believe in “ONYX” Quality—We want the Public to believe in “ONYX” Quality. Making the “ONYX” HOSE safe for every wearer of Hosiery is our constant aim. We believe in giving the Public what it wants. We believe that our experience has qualified us to give the best Hosiery values. ' We believe that every pair of “ONYX” Hosiery reflects Hosiery Honesty in its best form. We believe that the “ONYX” Trade-Mark stamped on every pair of Hose is a most con- vincing guarantee. We believe that no Advertised Brand is so vigilantly guarded, kept free of imperfections and defects. We know that on every pair of “ONYX” Hosiery for Men, Women and Children this Trade-Mark is placed with the sole object of putting within your reach a safe-mark of identification. See to it that your Hosiery bears the “ONYX” imprint. Sold at all the leading shops. Lord es Taylor, Wholesale Distributors, Lew York comicbooks.com