Life, 1919-09-04 · page 6 of 48
Life — September 4, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **entirely an advertisement**, not satire or editorial content. It's a full-page ad for Martin & Martin fine shoes, appearing in Life magazine (page 388). The ad makes no cartoons or political references. Instead, it uses persuasive rhetoric common to early 20th-century advertising: claiming Martin & Martin pioneered quality shoe manufacturing as a national business, positioning fine shoes as both luxurious and economical. The ad argues that while their shoes cost more per pair than competitors, they last longer, making them cheaper annually. The text emphasizes that quality shoes indicate refined character and that the company serves customer interest—a sales pitch rather than humor. Two store locations are listed: New York and Chicago.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tf you will Read this Advertisement, You will Wear Martin & Martin Shoes Mess) Martin & Martin are the most successful makers and re- tailers of fine shoes in America—the only ones, in fact, who have built a really important national business on fine shoes exclusively. Old time shoe merchants did not be- lieve that this could be done. They did not really believe in fineshoes, there- fore they could not sell many of them. They said that the market for fine shoes was limited. They were right— they limited it themselves by not un- derstanding the importance and the economy of good shoes. They encour- aged the public to buy cheap shoes, be- cause it was the line of least resistance. But it was not good for the shoe-buying public, therefore not ultimately good for the merchants who encouraged it. The success of Messrs. Martin & Marvin proves the point. It is much more profitable in the end to serve a customer’s interest than it is merely to sell him something. Messrs. Martin & Martin have built their business upon the sole idea that what is best for the customer is ulti- mately best for the merchant. They have greatly widened the market for fine shoes by demonstrating the real economy of such shoes. Everybody wants fine shoes—and_al- ways did—but many people used to think they could not attord them. Now they know that they cannot really afford anything else. Once more it has been proven that the best is, after | all, the cheapest. Martin & Martin shoes cost more per éair than some other shoes, but les per year than any others. They repre- sent the rea/ economy of high quality as distinguished from the fa/se economy of low price. Because they are the Jest shoes it js possible to make, they have become the most fashionable shoes. The ultra- fashionable person is always distin- guishable by superior gua/ity of apparel. And because these shoes are the best, they are of course the most com/fartable shoes to wear, as well as the most fash- ionable and the most economical. With these three superlative advantages, added to the most intelligent and care- ful fitting service ever devised, it is not surprising that Messrs. Martin & Martin have developed the fine shoe business to proportions never before thought possible. It is a business built solely upon service to the customer— upon giving more shoe satisfaction at less cost per year. Fashion, comfort and economy await your pleasure. The complete solution of your shoe prob- lem is here. Nore. Those who cannot visit the stores buy satisfactorily by mail. Our fitting charts, simple, accurate, and easily used, will be sent upon request. Martin 3 Martin Fine Shoes and Hosiery for Men and Women New York: 583 Fifth Avenue & 1 East Thirty-fifth Street Chicago : 326 Michigan Avenue comicbooks.commy