Life, 1917-09-06 · page 5 of 40
Life — September 6, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not a political cartoon or satirical content. The ad promotes Nujol, a laxative made by Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), based in Bayonne. The headline "Back from the Country and Feeling Fine" uses humor to address a common problem: constipation from sedentary desk work after vacation. The advertisement's appeal is straightforward—it markets Nujol as a gentle, non-irritating solution to constipation caused by lifestyle changes (lack of exercise, irregular meals). The ad emphasizes that Nujol is "harmless," "neither fattening nor heating," and sold only in sealed bottles to prevent imitations. This reflects early 20th-century advertising that openly discussed bodily functions and promoted patent medicines with broad health claims—practices later restricted by FDA regulations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Back from the Country and Feeling Fine Back fromyour vacation—feeling like a fighting cock. Lots of digging in to do—and in you dig. Hours crowded with work; no time for bodily exercise; hurried meals; nature’s signals unheeded. Then comes constipation. Ward off constipation—while readjusting yourself to a sedentary occupation—with the Nujol treatment. The Nujol way is the safe, efficient way to regulate the bowels without irritation. Nujol is harmless as it is not absorbed into the system. It is the satisfactory, sensible method of freeing yourself both from con- stipation and from the use of harmful, irritating, habit-forming laxative drugs. Nujol is neither fattening nor heating. Nujol is sold in pint bottles only that are filled and sealed at the Nujol laboratories, never in bulk, At all drug stores. Refuse imitations. There is only one Nujol. Send for our Nujol booklet. Nujol for constipation STANDARD _OIL COMPANY