Life, 1919-12-04 · page 71 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 71: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire** — it's a straightforward Christmas product advertisement for the AutoStrop Safety Razor, appearing in Life magazine's "Christmas Life" gift section. The page showcases the razor's key selling point: its **self-stropping mechanism** that automatically sharpens the blade during use, eliminating the need for manual stropping. The advertisement emphasizes convenience and economy — claiming "500 clean, comfortable shaves guaranteed from every dozen blades." The small illustrations at the top show gift-giving scenarios and product demonstrations. Different purchase "sets" are displayed (Combination Set, Pocket Kit, Tourist Set) at various price points ($5–$10), marketed as ideal Christmas gifts for men. There is no political commentary or satire here — simply a commercial pitch leveraging the holiday season to sell grooming products to male consumers who wanted reliable, low-maintenance shaving solutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘The Christmas gift every man enjoys all the year ‘round RAZOR l, gun metal, or gold-plated bin “or embossed, velvet-line -plated AutoStrop Re wand selected leather s Six Dollars. Combination Set d AutoStrop Razor; special brush and shaving soap in Hd tubes: removahle beveled plate teeive bi cand selected leather In tlack leather case, Ten ‘CHRISTMAS LIFE- SK any man to tell you —how soon after the first shave his razor blade begins to “pull” —how unsatisfactory that last shave is—the shave that makes him throw the blade away. Then you'll know why every man will be glad to get an AutoStrop Razor for Christmas. Every morning of the week the AutoStrop Razor provides a fresh, keen edge—gives a clean, quick, comfortable shave. 500 clean, comfortable shaves guaranteed from every dozen blades Built right into the frame of the AutoStrop Razor is a unique stropping device, simple and efficient—quick and easy to use, It smooths the tiny teeth of the blade back into alignment, and renews the fine, smooth edge before every shave. It isn’t necessary to take the razor apart to strop the blade. The strop is simply slipped through the razor head. The AutoStrop Razor sharpens, and cleans without removing a single part. Perfect shaving comfort for every of the year—that's s able features of the Autostrop Razor mean. ¢ hundred satisfying shaves are guaranteed from dozen blades. This razor is a Christmas gift a man enjoys all year "round! Make your Christmas gift fill a man’s real need. Give him an AutoStrop Razor. Ask your dealer today to show you the many different styles of AutoStrop Razor outfits—from the folding Pocket Kit to the complete Tourist Set. The standard sct, shown above, consists of a silver-plated, self-strop- ping razor, twelve blades, and selected leather strop—all in a neat, compact, black leather case, velvet-lined. Five Dollars. AUTOSTROP SAFETY RAZOR CO. NEW YORK TORONTO LONDON AutoStrop Razor ~— sharpens itself Combination Set Seven Dollars and pigskin or black leather flexible and selected leather st comicbooks.com