Life, 1915-05-27 · page 2 of 44
Life — May 27, 1915 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **cigarette advertisement** for Omar Turkish Blend Cigarettes by The American Tobacco Company, not political satire. The illustration depicts an **Orientalist fantasy scene**: two women in harem-style costumes in an exotic setting, reflecting early 20th-century Western stereotypes about the Ottoman Empire and "the Orient." The quote attributed to "Omar" ("All the Sea's self should heed a pebble cast") appears to invoke exotic/poetic authority to market the product. The ad emphasizes the cigarettes' Turkish origin, listing Ottoman regions (Bafra, Samsoun, Cavalla, Serres, Yaka) to suggest authenticity and quality. The price point—"20 for 15c"—indicates this was an affordable mass-market product. This represents **Orientalism as marketing**: exotic imagery used to make a domestic American product seem sophisticated and desirable to consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
All the Sea's, self should ~ Heed a peb- ble cast” —OMAR OM AR Turkish Blend Cigarettes From the sunny lands of the Ottoman — from Bafra, Samsoun, Cavalla, Serres, Yaka — far corners of the mysterious Orient — come the finest. Turkish tobaccos to mingle their exquisite fragrance and flavor with the sparkle and snap of choice domestic leaf in OMAR, the Perfect Turkish Blend. That first delicious puff of OMAR reveals to you a new cigarette quality — enjoyable, refreshing, satisfying beyond anything in your experience. There is no other cigarette like OMAR. By the time you have smoked three packages of Omar no other cigarette, Turkish or blended, will ever satisfy your taste again. 2 Oo for 1 5 Cc THE AMERICAN TOBACCO CO. ADVT. Second Class Mail Str, ice Department, Canad sh Possessions.