Life — August 6, 1914 — page 39: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **wine advertisement**, not a cartoon or satire. It promotes "B.&G." St. Julien Claret, a French wine from the Bordeaux region, marketed as ideal for post-exercise refreshment in hot weather. The ad features a wine bottle and a siphon bottle (likely for carbonation or serving), with the tagline emphasizing the wine's "Cooling-Refreshing" properties. The manufacturer, Barton & Guestier (established 1725), is identified as a legitimate French wine house, with E. La Montagne's Sons as sole U.S. agents in New Orleans, New York, and Chicago. This reflects early 20th-century advertising conventions in *Life* magazine, where alcohol was marketed as a health tonic and social beverage for the leisure class engaging in sports and recreation.