Life, 1919-10-09 · page 33 of 48
Life — October 9, 1919 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **advertisement** for Simmons Company metal beds, appearing in *Life* magazine (page 647). The page features: - A product photograph showing twin metal beds in a bedroom setting - Marketing copy emphasizing that metal beds are now both sanitary *and* aesthetically appealing ("charm of present-day decorative feeling") - Technical details about Simmons' innovations: seamless steel tubing (eliminating unsightly seams) and improved spring mechanisms - Appeals to early 20th-century consumer desires: hygiene, modern design, comfort, and choice (multiple colors and bed sizes) The key selling point addresses a genuine problem: metal beds were previously chosen for cleanliness but looked institutional or ugly. Simmons solved this by making them decorative. This represents typical *Life* magazine advertising from this era—full-page product placements marketed to middle-class homemakers concerned with both health and home aesthetics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The new note in bedroom furniture Metal Beds of Good Design by Simmons Company The woman who really wants a bed that adds beauty ta the roam, can now gratify her desire in these beautiful new Simmons patterns, ERETOFORE, when she bought a metal bed it was because of its sanitary character and in spite of the way it looked in the room. But now, with the new Simmons desi to choose from, she can have all the sanitary advantages of metal and all the charm of present-day decorative feeling. What could be more charming than the Simmons Twin Beds illustrated above, for instance, (No. 1809)—an example of perhaps a doven different styles that she will find tn the stores of prominent merchants! 8 Long ago the Simmons Company rec the possi! ilities of fine ¢ they were hampered by the | old-style tubi What they needed was a tubing truly seam- less and smooth all over—in contrast to the unsightly seam and roughness of the old ga5-pipe idea in iron tubing The need led to an intention—the Sim- mons Seamless Stee! Tubing, entirely free from seam and without a roughness to mar its polish or spoil the perfect finish of the enamel All these new beds are made of the mons Square Seamless Steel Tubing and you will note their perfect finish the minute you examine the enamel You have choice of Ivory and all the De corative Colors—as well as Hardwood effects, Mahogany, Oak, and Circassian Walnut And as to size, your choice of Twin Beds (as illustrated) or Double Width. The mons Company was one of the first advocat of the Twin Bed idea, now generally adopted everywhere B Beds Built for Sleep—that is the Sum principle and has been for twenty-five years. That principle produced the Simmons Pressed Steel Corner Locks, that hold the bed square and firm—prevent rattle ai squeak, give the nerves a chance to relax an invite deep repose. It produced the Simmons Springs—for ne ‘one can sleep soundly on a spring that sags or humps or loses its resiliency Your choice of two types— Tue Suvsimer Kixo—a spring com- posed of flex 1 strips with spirals of $0 combined tha ng act equalin all directions, Regular fi silver gray d—rustproof Tue Movxt Veaxox—the Sim mons improvement on the idea Ox spring B You will find these new Simmons Beds in all ¢ Beds by Simmons Company Also some notable Cribs for Ch Built for Sleep, which is even more for the growing child than for the jeading stores—and with them Bras dren— Simmons Beds cost little, if any, more than old-style beds. If you have any trouble in finding them, a post card to us will bring you the names of Simmons merchants near your home SIMMONS COMPANY, Kenosha, Winconsin SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA NEWARK, NEW JERSEY MONTREAL, CANADA SIMMONS BEDS-2uilt forSleep comicbooks.com