Life, 1913-12-04 · page 96 of 112
Life — December 4, 1913 — page 96: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **champagne advertisement**, not political satire. The ad promotes American-made Cook's champagne by mocking consumers' preference for imported French champagne. The "cartoon" shows two figures (a waiter and diner) discussing wine. The French text ("Pour Un Petit Souper") establishes a fancy dining scenario. The advertisement's humor targets American snobbery: it suggests people pay premium prices for French imports solely because of the foreign label and prestige, not superior quality. The "English of It" section translates the supposed sophistication into plainspoken American praise, essentially arguing: Cook's American champagne is equally good but costs half the price—the difference being import duties and shipping fees, not actual quality. It's nationalist marketing exploiting post-WWI American confidence in domestic products while mocking Francophile pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE epher the mancé works posted te ai busing his detigh charm one w libdeary a mini receiv ner, ta assure F where We: whow Belo erence corres Extra Dry c wd hampag gne Here's the English of It— ‘For that little supper, don't forget to say, ‘Waiter, give me a bottle of liquid joy—imprisoned sunshine—the wine that smacks of the luscious grape and bubbles with laughter—the ( wine that’s made in America,’’ Cook's Imperial E: Champagne. As one who knows good wine is tuned to the best you will appreciate its e ] T here—it’s really better in English, isn’t it? Vet that ] i Pr “foreign atmosphere’ has made the impression on you, For the same reason some people think that a foreign label flavors the wine and go gail ead paying one-half the price of the wine for import duty and shipping char, and the other half for the contents of the bottle—the latter half being the price they would pay for Cook's, Comichookstcon=: