Life, 1913-10-16 · page 2 of 44
Life — October 16, 1913 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **toothpaste advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes Pebeco Tooth Paste from Lehn & Fink Manufacturing. The ad features two smiling people (a man and woman) as generic examples of attractive individuals with good oral hygiene. The marketing claims Pebeco prevents "Acid Mouth"—a condition allegedly caused by mouth acid slowly damaging teeth and enamel. The ad emphasizes that good oral health is essential to personal attractiveness and social success, reflecting early 20th-century advertising conventions that tied hygiene products to desirability and social standing. The call-to-action offers a free 10-day trial tube and "Acid Test Papers," attempting to give the product scientific credibility. This was typical of period advertising before modern FDA regulations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ae _ : s ound leeth : * Pure Breath NM Feccdim Gom “Acid Mouth” Just as bodily health causes a healthy, wholesome complexion, so mouth health keeps the teeth sound and white and the breath untainted. The finest complexion, the most engaging personality of man or woman suffer a terrible handicap if teeth and breath are bad. PEBECO | TOOTH PASTE Pebeco keeps good teeth lustrous, pearly, immaculately white, because it overcomes the mouth-acids that cause decay and discoloration. For though you do not realize their presence, yet the chances are 20 to | (so dental authorities agree) that the acids in your mouth are slowly eating into your tooth enamel and making openings for the decay-germs to enter and make cavities in the softer interior of the teeth. Pebeco is specially made to overcome this all-but-universal acid condition of the mouth, as well as to do all and more than ordinary “toilet article dentifrices do in cleansing, polishing and whitening the teeth. Its superiority as a complete dentifrice is due to this double service. Pebeco cleans the teeth and saves them. Send for FREE 10-Day Trial Tube and Acid Test Papers and prove by actual test that Pebeco Tooth Paste is a scientific tooth preservet. and a beautifier and purifier of the breath, the use of which is a distinct pleasure. Pebeco originated in a 2 P. Beiersdorf & Co, Hamburg, Germany, and is sold by your druggist in extra-large, economical tubes that save money as : Try it LEHN & FINK, Manufacturing Chemists, 108 William Street, New York Producers of Len & Fink's Riveris Talcum comicbooks.com