Life, 1917-10-25 · page 5 of 44
Life — October 25, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Waltham Watch Company advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page uses **nationalist appeal** to market watches: it claims Italy officially adopted Waltham as the official timepiece for all Italian railroads after comparative testing against Swiss and British competitors. The large illustration shows an **Italian military or royal figure** in formal dress uniform, establishing prestige and authority. The advertisement's humor/satire is subtle: it positions watch reliability as crucial to national infrastructure and pride. By featuring a dignified Italian leader endorsing the American product, it suggests that even traditionally European-dominated industries now defer to American manufacturing quality. The small train illustration reinforces the railroad connection. This reflects early 20th-century American commercial confidence and competitive messaging to international markets.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Comes to WA LTH, p\ 'HE kingdom of Italy has adopted the Waltham as the official watch for all Italian railroads. By comparative tests she proved the Vanguard to be the most accurate watch in the world. Italy matched Waltham against the best watches manufactured in London, Geneva and Paris, then selected Vanguard for her railroads. Dependability — that is the reason for Italy's choice. That is why the world’s greatest railroads use more Waltham watches than all other makes combined. Especially is this true in the United Statesand Canada. Italy’s splendid tribute to Waltham su- premacy is the tribute you will pay, once you have played and worked to the tick of Waltham accuracy. The Vanguard The World’s Finest Railroad Watch apt ml he sf akon Wash Sed 23 and 19 jewels ‘and set; also the Gomead end stoma, and the Baguet hels ‘Diading indusier om the dual which tela ot ® ‘or nok your Waker needs winding: WALTHAM WATCH COMPANY WALTHAM, MASS. 7 CANADA: 189 St. James Street, Montread - Menufacturers of the Walthem Speedometer end Automobile Clocks bse cial jer dering. sed Dol- lian APE to a te ‘com oo dT