Life — August 9, 1917 — page 41: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Rameses brand cigarettes by Stephano Bros., Inc., a Turkish tobacco product. The image depicts a figure in Middle Eastern dress riding a camel in a desert landscape with pyramids in the background—evoking Egypt and the pharaoh Rameses to suggest exotic sophistication and quality. The advertising copy claims "Nobody ever changes from Rameses," positioning the brand as superior and habit-forming. The ad emphasizes product availability in various sizes: "tens, twenties and week-end tins" for different occasions and budgets. This reflects early 20th-century advertising practices that used colonial/orientalist imagery to market luxury goods, before widespread understanding of tobacco's health dangers.