Life, 1915-08-05 · page 2 of 44
Life — August 5, 1915 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily an **advertisement for Omar Turkish Blend Cigarettes**, not political satire. The image depicts two people in exotic costume on a beach, apparently referencing orientalist aesthetics popular in early 20th-century American marketing. The quoted text—"As Wind along the Waste, / I know not Whither, / willy-nilly blowing"—appears to be a literary allusion, possibly from Edward FitzGerald's *Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam*, lending the product an air of sophistication and romance. The ad emphasizes the product's blend of Turkish tobacco with American cigarette quality, marketed at "20 for 15c." This represents typical early 1900s advertising strategy: exoticizing foreign goods while assuring American consumers of quality control. There is no apparent political commentary or satire on this page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
RO TL) S > =” = “As Wind along the Waste. 1 know not Whither, P34 willy-nilly blowing.” _ O MAR OMAR CIGARETTES In the picturesque vilayets and sanjaks of the Turkish Empire the most deliciously aromatic tobaccos in the world are grown. This precious Turkish leaf selected there by our own experts is shipped overseas in golden bales to unite its Oriental richness with the sparkle and snap of America’s finest cigarette tobacco in the wondrous OMAR blend. This is the secret of OMAR’S remarkable success—it combines all the delightful qualities of the choicest types of Turkish and domestic leaf, affording a new and greater enjoyment to smokers of all-Turkish and blended cigarettes. No other cigarette has the sparkling flavor, attractive smoothness and thorough relish of OMAR, the Unique. 20 for 15c comicbooks.com