Life, 1916-11-09 · page 32 of 40
Life — November 9, 1916 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising copy** for Life magazine's calendar product, circa early 1900s. The cartoon depicts a romantic scene: a man presents flowers to a woman, who expresses disappointment—she expected a **Life Calendar** instead. The joke is gentle social satire: the advertisement suggests that giving a Life Calendar is actually the *superior* gift choice, more thoughtful and useful than flowers, as it reminds the recipient of the giver all year. The ad positions Life Calendars as fashionable among "attractive and intelligent young men" as gifts for girlfriends and friends. It's a self-promotional piece using humor and romance to market the product ($1.50 each), emphasizing scarcity ("necessarily limited") to create urgency. The sidebar form on the left appears to be a gift-enclosure card readers could customize and send with their order. This is straightforward period advertising dressed up with comic appeal—no political satire is present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
She: What! Flowers! I thought you were going to bring me a Lire Calendar! Life Calendars are now used every year by all attrac- tive and intelligent young men, not only to present to their best girls, but to a wide circle of friends. As a sea- ot, sonable gift, shey are irreproachable. They serve as a . reminder of the donor all the coming year. They are cor ing to useful. They are beautiful. much ae Life issues but one calendar during the year. The t how yo edition is necessarily limited. We cannot tell exactly 'Gind enclosed. % how many. to print, and we usually print less than are Send in your order now. They sell for $1.50 each. Let us send you one on receipt of the price. Look it over. If you don’t like it, return it at our expense and we will retuyn your money. Address LIFE, 17 West 31st Street New York we v ee a? poomeenoeee een oo wn nn mnaennetone®