Life, 1912-12-05 · page 85 of 116
Life — December 5, 1912 — page 85: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon or satire—it's a **full-page advertisement** for Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., disguised as editorial content in *Life* magazine. The ad promotes a free "Handsome Book of Holiday Gifts" featuring electrical appliances (toaster-stoves, coffee percolators, chafing dishes, irons, heaters) priced $3.50–$22.50. Readers are urged to write for the catalog by mail. **Historical context for modern readers:** This reflects the early 20th-century marketing of **electric home appliances as luxury holiday gifts**—a relatively new consumer category. The emphasis on electricity being "the cleanest, handiest, safest heat known" shows manufacturers positioning these devices as modern, superior alternatives to gas or wood-burning equipment. The mail-order catalog approach was standard before mass retail shopping. The ad's placement in a humor magazine suggests advertisers sought *Life*'s affluent, educated readership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
These pages are from a Handsome Book of Holiday Gifts. You may have it Free if you Write Now IHE. book shows a dozen new and attractive pieces of Westinghouse Electric Ware, famous for quality, durability, and attractive design, priced at $3.50 to $22.50. Toaster-stoves Coffee Percolators Tea Samovars Saute Pans Chafing Dishes Frying Pans Travelers’ Irons that also heat a curling iron. -The New Luminous Electric Heater, for use in the cold corner and on chilly mornings. Bedside Table Stoves or “Electric Hot Plates” All operated by electricity, the cleanest, handiest, safest heat known, and fully guaranteed by the makers, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. Designed for practical use, economical, and heated by the patented Westinghouse heating element, a special resistance metal hermetically sealed which is indestructible under ordinary conditions of use. Send your name and address at once for the book. The edition is limited and a copy will give you many suggestions for suitable holiday gifts without the discomfort of looking through crowded shops. Address your letter or postal to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. Dept. HV, East Pittsburgh, Penna. comicbooks.com