Life, 1913-12-04 · page 95 of 112
Life — December 4, 1913 — page 95: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **entirely an advertisement** for A.A. Vantine & Co., a luxury import store. There are no cartoons or satirical content. The ad promotes Japanese tea sets and decorative items as Christmas gifts, priced $2.50–$10. The pitch emphasizes exclusivity and "Eastern refinement"—appealing to early 20th-century American tastes for Japanese aesthetics, which were fashionable following increased trade with Japan. Key selling points include: - Hand-painted Kutani tea sets with gold detailing - "Original Japanese Packing Undisturbed" (goods arrive in authentic Japanese straw packaging) - Free booklet available by mail - Safe delivery guaranteed The ad reflects the period's orientalism—the romanticized Western fascination with Asian culture as exotic and refined. Vantine's positioned itself as the authoritative source for "graceful compliments in gifts" understood through "old Eastern World" traditions, targeting affluent American consumers seeking distinctive holiday presents.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
. Send Your Gift From Japan But Your Order To Vantine’s > IRST in your consideration in the purchase of Christ- mas Gifts should be the store which is headquarters for the unique—for the refined—for those things which symbolize sentiments and fit personalities, from the view- point of the old Eastern World where the expression of graceful compliments in gifts has been a study of centuries. Vantine’s representatives in the Orient have sent the result of their twelve-month’s task of gathering Christmas gifts which appeal to the tastes and hearts of Americans. Send for a free copy of this beautiful booklet illustrating in natural colors these distinctive Christmas gifts, ranging in price from $2.50 to $10, express prepaid. i Pp" TURED on the cover of the hook- let above is a Nutani tea set, with hand-painted landseape design in rich red and green, outlined in pure gold. and with a border of gold on red; the gold < Being agate polished. Made in Kana = c = § zawa—one of the oldest of Japanese ._ designs —teapot, sugar bowl, cream i Pit i Set, Delivered Free, $5 ” pitcher and six cups and saucers. Price, Balas aly, mauractine eo ares with a fl All hand i the United States, in original "$10. fi More 1 han A Japanese packing and box . addres delivered prepaid to any address in Original Japanese Packing Undisturbed ry add to the Oriemal effect. for presentation purposes, we have had 1 these Tea Sets packed individually in our studios in Japan, ¢ shown in the illustration to the right. The quaint, thorough straw s and the Japanese boxes are left intact, just as they ar from the ship—the ree i ya ¢ from the Orient. When desired, the lid will be lifted sulti- f] ciently to insert the card of the donor. In ordering, kindly instruct us on this point. Safe delivery guaranteed. “& NAVANTINES'CO NEW YORK BOSTON PHILADELPHIA “The Most Interesting Store in America”