Life, 1918-05-16 · page 40 of 40
Life — May 16, 1918 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a World War I–era advertisement, not a political cartoon. It shows a woman writing a letter and preparing photographs to send to a soldier fighting overseas (indicated by the gold star in the window—a symbol meaning a family member was serving in the war). The ad appeals to wartime sentiment by positioning Kodak cameras as tools for maintaining morale. Simple family photographs would supposedly sustain soldiers' courage by keeping them emotionally connected to home. The "star in the window" reference is significant: gold stars signified active soldiers; black stars marked those killed in action. This represents how American corporations marketed products during WWI by tying them to patriotic duty and emotional support for troops—a common advertising strategy of the period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
May 16, 1918 oe od The Kodak Letter The star in the window tells the story—their soldier is ‘‘over there.’’ The morning letter of cheer and hope has been written and with it pictures are going, simple Kodak pictures of their own taking that tell the home story, —pidtures that will bring a cheery smile to his face, a leap of joy to his heart, that will keep bright the fire of courage in his soul as with the home image fresh in mind he battles for the safety of that home and for the honor of his flag. EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, Rochester, N. Y., The Kodak City comicbooks Bain