Life, 1915-04-01 · page 65 of 72
Life — April 1, 1915 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Bull Durham smoking tobacco to the "experienced smoker" market. The illustration shows two well-dressed men in a car or carriage, smoking cigarettes they've rolled themselves—depicting the aspirational lifestyle the product targets. The ad emphasizes that rolling your own cigarettes from bulk tobacco is "smart, fashionable, correct," positioning it as a mark of refined taste and connoisseurship rather than economy. The sales pitch claims Bull Durham's quality comes from exclusive use of Virginia-North Carolina tobacco leaf, and argues that hand-rolled cigarettes preserve the tobacco's "delicate, elusive" flavor better than mass-manufactured ones. A free offer promotes both an instructional booklet on rolling technique and complimentary cigarette papers, distributed from Durham, North Carolina. This reflects early 20th-century marketing that associated consumer products with sophistication and status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
vel of ¢ read= r books v story incient " loyal a SS eee oe eee rere ee wea Rs Experienced Smokers “Roll Their Own” “ Bull” Durham is not the smoke of novices or dabblers in tobacco enjoyment, but of connoisseurs, smokers of experience, whose tastes have been trained to a fine discrimination and appreciation of tobacco quality. These men—and their name is legion—prefer the fresh cigarettes they roll for themselves with mellow, delicious ‘Bull’ Durham tobacco to any other kind. Their expert preference has made it smart, fashionable, correct, to “roll your own” with GENUINE ‘BULL DURHAM SMOKING TOBACCO No other tobacco in the world is selected, mellowed and manufactured with Ask for FREE package of the great care of “Bull” Durham. Mild, ripe, Virginia-North Carolina “ bright “‘popers’” with each Se sack tobacco leaf is used exclusively, and the enormous quantities required enable “ Bull” Durham to control the choicest crops of this world-famous cigarette tobacco. The delicate, elusive, mellow-sweet fragrance of this leaf can only be retained in the bulk of tobacco in the “ Bull” Durham sack, and enjoyed in the fresh-rolled cigarette. That is why “Bull” Durham hand-made cigarettes have a distinctive, unique, delightful aroma, found in no other cigarettes and in no other tobacco. That's why “ Bull” Durham gives experienced smokers throughout the world supreme enjoyment and wholesome satisfaction. An Illustrated Booklet, showing correct way to “Roll Your FREE Own™ Cigarettes, and a package of cigarette papers, will both be mailed, free, to any address in U. S. on request. Address “Bull” Durham, Durham, N. C., Room 1295. THE AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY