Life, 1910-05-19 · page 29 of 40
Life — May 19, 1910 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Gillette Safety Razor advertisement** (circa 1909-1910) that reveals the racist attitudes embedded in early 20th-century American corporate expansion. The ad's top illustration shows five men representing different nationalities/military affiliations, depicting how Gillette marketed razors globally. The text explicitly targets non-Western populations—particularly in India and China—using language that patronizes them as "awakening" from "obsolete" traditions. Phrases like "Men there have been stropping and honing for five thousand years" frame non-Western grooming practices as primitive, positioning the razor as civilizing technology spread by "Army and Navy officers, tourists, capitalists." The bottom section, "Couldn't Fool the Boy," is a brief ethnic joke about a Jewish boy in a Philadelphia hospital who responds to "Ticklish?" with "No; Yiddish"—a pun playing on Jewish identity and dialect stereotypes. Together, these pieces exemplify how turn-of-the-century consumer capitalism wrapped imperialism and cultural supremacy in humor and commercial messaging.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
e sweep of an idea is not a matter of geography. Start something in Boston and you get the echo in Bombay. It is an idea that makes neigh- bors of us all. In the farthest corner of the world you find the Gillette Safety Razor— introduced by Army and Navy officers, tourists, capitalists, business men. The Gillette now has great sales agencies in India and China. Men there have been stropping and honing for five thousand years. It’s time they were awakening. How léng will you cling to obsolete shaving methods? Seven hundred thousand men bought Gillettes last year. We expecta million new customers in 1910. Wake up! Get a Gillette! Make a good front. Look the world in the face. A Gillette shave every morning is more than a material comfort—it’s a moral brace—gives you a new grip on the Day’s work. The Gillette is for sale everywhere. It costs $5, but it lasts a lifetime. Write and we’ll send you a pamphlet —Dept. A. King CELE GILLETTE SALES COMPANY, 48 West Second Street, Couldn’t Fool the Boy A Hebrew boy, eleven years of age, who was a fever pa- tient in a Philadelphia hospital, had shown a disposition to whine and complain at all times. The nurse was giving him an alcohol sponge, and, thinking to divert his mind, she said to him as she rubbed under his arms: "Ticklish?" Still whining, the youngster said: “ Pincott’s, No; Yiddish.’"—Lip- A 1’LL BET HE IS A FOREIGNER!" RE—HE'S ENGLISH ; GET ON TO THE BATHTUB ME 1S CAR- comicbooks.com