Life, 1919-09-04 · page 5 of 48
Life — September 4, 1919 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It's a Waltham Watch Company advertisement from Life magazine (page 387). The top illustration shows two people examining watches at a workbench—likely depicting craftsmen or jewelers inspecting timepieces. The lengthy text below explains Waltham's technical innovations, specifically their balance wheel design that compensates for temperature fluctuations in metal. The advertisement emphasizes scientific precision: Waltham's balance wheel allegedly performs better than competitors' because it's made from specially treated steel and brass, created through standardized manufacturing processes. The "Vanguard" pocket watch image and tagline "THE WORLD'S WATCH OVER TIME" promote the brand's reliability and superiority. This is straightforward product marketing highlighting engineering excellence—no political message or satire is present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
To Instruct and Protect You in Buying Your Watch E are all subject to temperature. There is a physical response to heat or cold. There is an expansion or contraction of the body's tissues which produces a distinct feeling. Thus we say, “The heat is ‘melting’ me” or “The cold is ‘shriveling’ me.” The balance wheel of a watch automatically allows for the differ- ence in temperature that your watch may be subject to. In fact, the balance wheel is to a watch what a pendulum is to a clock — an automatic governor. Owing to the expansion and contraction of metal, which, under heat or cold, would increase or decrease the diameter of the balance wheel, thereby affecting the number of time-keeping vibrations per second, the Waltham balance wheel is made of specially, treated steel and brass, fused together and rolled under high pressure to produce the necessary temper after fusing. Thus the Waltham balance wheel responds to varying heat or cold more readily than the balance in the foreign built watch, which is apt to be too soft and lackia.g in temper to keep perfect time or to be easily repaired In the making of this standardized Waltham balance wheel there are thirteen The foreign watch balance wheel lacks the standard uniformity in the fusing and rolling of the metals, so necessary to the time-keeping performance of the watch, which can only be produced by the specialized machinery developed at the Waltham shops. One of the many reasons why the world’s leading horologists came to Waltham for time was because they appreciated these scientific facts in Waltham standardization. When you purchase a Waltham watch its time-keeping qualities will not vary with heat or cold. It is a watch that is “ governed this respect by the last word in correct metallurgy to give its balance wheel a perfect performance. This is one more scientific reason why your watch selection should be a Waltham. This story is continaed in @ beaxtifal booklet in which you will fd a liberal watch education Sent free epon request. Weltham Watch Company, Waltham, Mass WALTHAM THE WORLD'S WATCH OVER TIME 23 jewels $66 and up comicbooks.com