Life, 1914-10-01 · page 6 of 48
Life — October 1, 1914 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Johnnie Walker whisky advertisement** disguised as satirical content. The illustration shows two men in conversation—a "Convalescent Host" and "Jovial Friend"—in what appears to be a post-WWI setting (born 1820, "still going strong"). The satire is thin: the friend boasts about war victories, defeats, and "a new map of Europe," but pivots to praising Johnnie Walker whisky's non-refillable bottle as "the greatest thing of all." The joke suggests that amid serious geopolitical upheaval, the advertisement's subject is trivially promoted as the real achievement. The ad copy emphasizes the bottle's anti-tampering design, positioning the product as reliably "honest" compared to dishonest servants. Agents are listed as Williams & Humbert in New York.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Born 1820 —Still going strong. Convalescent Host: “ Wuat's New, OLD Top?” Jovial Friend: “Ou, War, VICTORIES, DEFEATS—A NEW MAP OF EUROPE—BUT THE GREATEST THING OF ALL IS THE ‘ JoHNNIE WALKER’ NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE. My WORD, THAT IS SOMETHING WORTH WHILE.” Ask for “ Johnnie Walker” Red Label whisky in the wonderful non-refillable bottle. It protects honest serv- ants from unjust suspicion and the superior quality of “ Johnnie Walker” from dishonest servants. Every drop of Red Label is over 10 years old. GUARANTEED SAME QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Agents: WILLIAMS & HUMBERT, 1158 Broadway, NEW YORK. JOHN WALKER & SONS, Lro., Wiisxy Distittees, KILMARNOCK.