Life, 1911-09-14 · page 46 of 46
Life — September 14, 1911 — page 46: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward product advertisement from Life magazine, September 14, 1911. The page promotes three grooming products by the J.B. Williams Company: shaving stick, shaving powder, and dentalactic tooth powder. Each product is shown in its nickel-plated hinged box and described with period marketing language emphasizing comfort, quality, and convenience. The "joke" or appeal is purely commercial: the advertisements highlight practical features (one-handed operation, smooth lather, non-gritty formula) and offer a special deal—sample packages of all five Williams products for 16 cents in stamps. This reflects early 20th-century advertising norms in Life magazine, which mixed satirical content with commercial pages. There are no political references, caricatures, or hidden meanings—just vintage men's grooming marketing aimed at readers of a humor publication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Williams Shaving Stick HINGED COVERS The comfort or discom- fort of shaving isn’t half so much in the razor as in the lather. The dis- tinguishing feature of Williams’ Shaving Stick is that it produces a thick, smooth, creamy NICKEL BOXES lather that maintains your comfort during the shave and preserves it afterwards. SPECIAL OFFER A miniature sample package of either Williams’ Shaving Stick, Shaving Powder, Dentalactic Tooth Powder, Jersey Cream Toilet Soap or Talc Powder, mailed for 4 cents in stamps, All five articles in neat combination package for 16 cents in stamps. September 14, 1911 Williams Williams Shaving fF 7” Dentalactic Powder [iusae@l Tooth Powder Just shake a little on the wet brush—the result is the same smooth, creamy lather that you’ve always known in Williams’ Shav- ing Soap and Shaving Stick. The hinged-cover box, operated with one, hand—snap, snap—open and shut—makes it quick and easy all the way. A. delightful preparation made with as much regard for the pro- tection of the teeth as for thorough cleansing. There is no grit to scratch the enamel. It is finer than any powder you ever used and has cleansing and preserving properties far beyond the ordinary. In hinged-cover, nickeled box with visible opening. Addreas THE J. B. WILLIAMS COMPANY, Dept. A, Glastonbury, Conn. . x comicbooks.com