Life, 1917-09-13 · page 44 of 44
Life — September 13, 1917 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire—it's a straightforward advertisement** for Williams' Holder Top Shaving Stick, published in *Life* magazine on September 13, 1917. The page features a large photograph of a man with his hands near his face in a satisfied expression, promoting the shaving product. The ad copy addresses common grooming concerns of the era: difficult beards and sensitive skin prone to razor irritation. It emphasizes the product's 77-year history and highlights the convenience of the metal holder that provides a firm grip as the stick diminishes. The ad lists multiple product forms (stick, powder, cream, liquid) and offers trial sizes for interested consumers. While *Life* was known for satire and humor, **this particular page is purely commercial product advertising**—typical of early 20th-century magazine marketing, which often occupied significant space alongside editorial content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 13, 1917 olderlop | Shavin Sticke | S your beard the wiry kind that grows forty ways for Sunday? Is your skin the tender kind that looks upon a razor as its deadly enemy? Then yours is the beard and yours is the skin that has given Williams’ Shaving Soap its hold on men’s affections for 77 years. Try Williams’ Holder Top Shaving Stick and see what its rich, soothing, softening lather will do for you. Ask for it by its full name—/MWilliams’ Holder Top Shaving Stick—then you will get the added advantage of the metal holder that gives you a firm, dry grip for your fingers. Your appreciation of its convenience and economy grows greater as the stick grows less. Williams’ Shaving Soap comes in several convenient forms: Stick, Powder, Cream, Liquid and in round cakes / Send 12c, in stamps for trial sizes of the tour forms shown bere, and then decide which you preter. Or send 4c. in stamps tor any one. The J. B. Williams Co. Dept. A Glastonbury, Conn. h ta your shave weith Powder @ i) Williams’ Shaving Soap g Ama | comicbooks.gomi