Life, 1919-06-19 · page 38 of 42
Life — June 19, 1919 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon but an **advertising essay** promoting the value of advertising itself. The piece argues that inflation—the decreasing purchasing power of pennies over time—is actually *positive* because advertising has enabled mass production and distribution, making goods affordable to more people. The argument compares purchasing power from James Buchanan's era (1850s-60s) to the present day: a penny once bought a pastry; now it buys less individually, but modern consumers enjoy far greater *variety* and *availability* of goods at reasonable prices due to advertising-driven markets. The essay essentially claims readers owe their prosperity to advertisers and advertising, framing ad-reading as a civic duty. This self-promotional piece was written by LIFE's own Advertising Manager and appears designed to convince readers (and potential advertisers) that advertising benefits society by expanding consumer choice and economic opportunity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Make the Pennies Bigger When James Buchanan was President and tall beaver hats were in vogue; when gentlemen wore broad cravats and ladies wore hoop skirts, the pennies they tossed to children were as big as quarters, But the cart-wheel coppers your grandfather got for keeping his loce collar clean were not as big in buying power as the pennies of today. A penny then might buy a pastry, or ten of them take one to the Fair, but your great-aunt and great-uncle couldn’t have gone to a movie at any price. Your great-gran’ther may have driven the fastest horse in the country and paid a tidy sum for it. But the price of a stable of thoroughbreds would not have bought him a flivver. Sixty years ago the ladies could go shopping for dry goods and buy silks that would make you green with envy, linens that were linens and broadcloths that beggar description. But what their favorite store did not have they usually got along without. Times have changed, and so have merchandise and busin methods. One of the influences that has helped to bring about so much of change, that has helped to multiply opportimnities and increased the spending size of our pennies is advertising. Every merchant, every manufac- turer knows that advertising material!) reduces selling costs by increasing the demand for and the distribution of the products of hundreds of thousands of factories. Indeed many of the things we count today as necessities or simple luxuries could not be made and sold at their reasonable prices except as adver- tising has created a. broad market for them, making millions of sales at little prices and little profits. And so you owe very much to ad- vertising. You owe much to the peo- ple of yesterday who have read and been influenced by past advertising and so have made possible the economies and varieties and wide distribution of merchandise that you enjoy. You owe present advertising a thor- ough reading. A greater familiarity with advertising, with advertisers and advertised merchandise makes contin- ually for the increasing size of your pennies. Gee. Bee. Are LIFE’S Advertising Manager, 31st St., West, No. 17, New B. F. Provandie, Western Mgr., Marquette Bldg., 1537, Chicago comicbooks.com