Life — August 31, 1916 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a straightforward cigarette advertisement, not political satire. The ad promotes "Natural Egyptian Cigarettes" by Schinasi Bros., priced at fifteen cents. The imagery uses Egyptian iconography—a figure in pharaonic dress with hieroglyphics—as a marketing device to suggest exotic sophistication and quality tobacco. The tagline claims the product has been "made in the Schinasi way—the quality way" for a quarter-century. This reflects early 20th-century advertising conventions: using foreign/orientalist imagery to market luxury goods, and Egyptian cigarettes were genuinely popular and prestigious at this time. The ad makes no apparent political commentary—it's simply commercial copy capitalizing on cultural associations between Egypt and refined tobacco products.