Life, 1919-02-13 · page 5 of 42
Life — February 13, 1919 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Waltham Watch advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The page opens with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson praising precision engineering ("put together like a Waltham Watch"), then pivots to a sales pitch. The illustration shows what appears to be a **watchmaker or jeweler at work**, demonstrating the craftsmanship behind Waltham products. The advertisement emphasizes American manufacturing superiority, claiming Waltham watches have "defeated" foreign competitors in "horological tests" at world's expositions. The campaign promises a series of advertisements explaining Waltham's technical advantages, positioning the watch as an "investment in time-keeping" with superior American "mechanical skill" and standardized parts for easy repair—a practical sales argument for early 20th-century consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Special Offer Iman, said: Hike a Waltham Watch.” | This remarkable tribute to Waltham great- ness is the result of the genius of many 233 A Campaign to Protect Youin Buying Your Watch ; ALPH WALDO EMERSON, a speaking in one of his e S| essays of a distinguished “He is put together men whose inventive faculties have been concentrated for nearly three-quarters of a century to make it the wonderful time- keeping device it is. The buying of a watch is an investment in time-keeping. And time is the most valu- able possession of man. You purchase a watch for one thing—to keep correct time for you—to tell it to you with dependability at any moment of the day or night. Agood watch, therefore, must have something more than good looks — it must have good “ works.” Millions of people imagine that the “ best’? watch ismade abroad —or, at any rate, that its works are imported from there. Yet, in competitive horological tests at the world’s great Expositions, Waltham has not only defeated these watches of foreign origin, but all other watches as well. : lnascries of advertisements we are going to show Americans that there is a watch built in the United Sates whose time-keeping mechanism is more trust- worthy than those of foreign make, — Awatch that is easily and reasonably repaired be- cause its parts are standardized, — Awatch that represents American leadership in mechanical skill, — Duane H. Church, famous incentor who filled the great shops et Waltham, Massochusets, with exclusive watch-moking machinery that performs mirocks of eccurate and delicate work which the human hend could never equal. A watch that has revolutionized the art of watch making and assured accurate and dependable time-keeping. “ We are going to take you through the “works” of a Waltham — lay bare those hidden superiorities which have led the horological experts of the greatest nations to choose Waltham as the watch for the use of their government railroads. When you have finished reading these advertisements, which will appear regularly in the leading magazines, you will walk up to your jeweler’s counter and demand the watch you want — because you will know how it is built and why it is superior to the foreign watch. Look for these Read them. advertisements. WALTHAM THE WORLD'S WATCH OVER TIMB comicbooks.com