Life, 1914-02-19 · page 40 of 40
Life — February 19, 1914 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **commercial advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The J.B. Williams Company (Glastonbury, Connecticut) promotes their shaving soap products in the February 19, 1914 *Life* magazine. The ad uses five illustrated benefits, each with a small circular icon showing a clock, flexed arm, satisfied man, happy face, and money symbol. The copywriting employs hyperbolic claims typical of early 20th-century advertising: the soap "saves" time, energy, worry, temper, and money by producing superior lather that softens beards and prepares skin for shaving. The right side shows product bottles and promotes a "Special Offer"—discounted sample "Suit Case Sets" (five trial-size reproductions) available for 24 cents in stamps, targeting customers unfamiliar with the brand. This reflects pre-regulation advertising practices when health and performance claims faced minimal scrutiny.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
on . : HUME because they give a quick and copious lather that speedily softens-the beard and remains cool and moist as long as you need it. because they prepare the beard perfectly for the razor and make shaving a relaxation. because you will anticipate your shave with a smile of satisfaction and not with a frown of annoy- ance. because they will make your razor and yourself the best of friends nn leave a happy face soft and velvety as a boy’s. because so little soap is required to make a big, thick, creamlike, lasting lather. THE J. B. WILLIAMS CO. Dept. A, Glastonbury, Conn. A fler shaving use Williams’ Talc Powder ‘Holder Top, 1) Suit Case Sets In order that those who are not familiar with our new toilet re- quisites may have an opportunity to try some of them, we have prepared very attractive sets of samples which we call ‘‘ Men’s Suit Case Sets’ and “Women’s Suit Case Sets.”” These are hand- somely decorated boxes, each containing five trial size repro- ductions of our regular packages. Either set will be sent for 24 cents in stamps if your dealer does not supply you. comicbooks.com