Life — August 3, 1911 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is **primarily advertising** with literary content. The main advertisement—a large black rectangle—promotes "Great Western Extra Dry Champagne" from Pleasant Valley Wine Company (Rheims, New York), claiming it won the highest award ever given an American wine at the 1910 Brussilles Exposition. The left column contains **literary quotations about tobacco**, gathered under "What the Immortals Say About Nicotine"—references to smoking from Byron, Ben Jonson, Charles Lamb, and others. These appear designed to legitimize tobacco use through classical literary authority. The remaining advertisements cover foot-ease products, English automobile tours, a weight-loss treatment, and tooth soap. The page reflects early 20th-century consumer culture and promotional practices normalizing tobacco and patent medicines now recognized as harmful.