Life — October 18, 1917 — page 39: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a **cigarette advertisement** for Rameses brand, not political satire. The ad features a photograph of Abu Simbel's colossal Egyptian statues with small human figures standing before them for scale, emphasizing grandeur and monumentality. The advertisement's tagline—"THE ARISTOCRAT OF CIGARETTES" and "NOBODY EVER CHANGES FROM RAMESES"—uses the ancient Egyptian monument as a symbol of timelessness, durability, and prestige. The product packaging is displayed prominently on the right. The ad markets Rameses in multiple tin sizes for "particular occasions," positioning the cigarettes as a premium product. This represents early 20th-century advertising that leveraged exotic imagery and historical grandeur to suggest quality and sophistication to consumers.