Life, 1915-01-21 · page 2 of 44
Life — January 21, 1915 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising copy** for Richmond Straight Cuts cigarettes, disguised as nostalgic humor. The illustration depicts Victorian-era people with a high-wheel bicycle ("high-wheeler"), referencing an outdated technology. The ad's joke: just as high-wheel bicycles were once fashionable but are now museum pieces, Richmond Straight Cuts cigarettes will endure forever. The text humorously notes that high-wheelers required a step-ladder to mount and were awkward to ride—contrasting this obsolescence with the cigarettes' permanent appeal. The phrase "Friends for Forty Four Years" (at bottom) emphasizes brand loyalty and longevity. This represents early 20th-century advertising strategy: using self-aware humor about consumer culture to sell products by positioning the brand as a timeless classic, unlike passing fads.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
D a d % w Ever Rid @ Those old-fashioned a High-Wheeler ? two-story bicycles were the gay decciv- ers, all right! You needed a step-ladder to mount one of them—and only half a second to get off. They never stood on ceremon: when they got ready to buck. Scems an awful long time since they were the vogue. So long ago that the last of | them must be in the museums by this time. The encyclo- pedia says the first high-wheel bicycle was brought to this country from England in 1876. That was five years after Richmond Straight Cuts were first introduced to the Ameri- can public. They both made a big suc- cess. But while the high- wheel bicycle is gone forever —Richmond Straight Cuts go on forever. They will ever be the best of all Virginia Cigarettes. Besides the regular package of 20, these cigarettes are also packed in attractive tin boxes, convenient for den, office of traveling, 50 for 40 cents: 100 for 75 cents. These larger packages will be sent prepaid on receipt of price, if your dealer cannot supply them Meonv- Gi, wen eR ON f qT - RICHMOND, VirGinia,US.A. GGETT&MYERS TOBACCO CO. successor. <s running © been look tention 10 ures show pottled | common an attach tion pr back a we can ting it M* Beat for be