Life — November 15, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is primarily a **Waltham Watch Company advertisement**, not a satirical cartoon. The page uses a Japanese figure in traditional dress to market watches, playing on early 20th-century fascination with Japan as a modernizing industrial power. The ad's premise: Japan sought the world's finest watches and chose Waltham, supposedly proving the brand's superiority. This reflects actual historical context—Japan was rapidly industrializing and adopting Western technology around this era. The imagery relies on **Orientalist stereotyping** common to period advertising, depicting Japan as exotic yet materially ambitious. The globe and railroad imagery emphasize Waltham's role in modern commerce and transportation infrastructure globally. The tagline "The World's Watch Over Time" positions Waltham as indispensable to international progress and industrial timekeeping.