Life, 1915-10-07 · page 41 of 52
Life — October 7, 1915 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement, not satirical content. The page promotes Velvet Tobacco by Liggett & Myers, claiming it won the Grand Prix (highest award) at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco "for Superior Quality." The ad emphasizes the product's natural aging process (two years in wood), positioning it as superior to artificially matured competing tobaccos. It includes an image of the product packaging and a scenic photograph (likely from the Exposition) to establish prestige. For modern readers: This represents early 20th-century tobacco marketing before health warnings were required. The association with a major international exposition was a credibility strategy—winning prestigious awards was used to differentiate brands in a competitive market, much as "award-winning" marketing persists today, though tobacco advertising itself is now heavily restricted.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Highest Award Ever Given to Smoking Tobacco TE International Jury of Award at the Panama- Pacific International Exposition awarded the GRAND PRIX to VELVET Tobacco. This award, the Highest Honor in the Gift of the Exposition, was given VELVET, "for its Superior Quality." VELVET’S claim to this high award was based on the following points: VELVET SMOKING TOBACCO is a selected, naturally- matured tobacco, aged-in-the-wood for over two years. This natural curing, while slow and expensive, is recognized as far superior _to any artificial method of maturing Pipe Tobacco. VELVET is aged and cured in Nature's own patient way and justly holds the title of the "Smoothest Smoking Tobacco." This official opinion of the Intemational Jury of Award thus one the high esteem in which VELVET is held by American smokers. Be’ Matul-Lined Bags Liggett «Myers Tobacco Cx One-Pound Glass Humidors \ | | { Ling ells Myers Tolecco a for Smoking Tobacco | BY THE | aa PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION SAN FRANCISCO 19 TOR S cc oO ETT& MYERS TOBACCO Co. comicbooks.com