Life, 1919-12-25 · page 36 of 37
Life — December 25, 1919 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an advertisement for Instant Postum, a caffeine-free coffee substitute popular in the early 20th century. The image shows a doctor advising a patient to stop drinking coffee, suggesting that coffee causes "annoying ills." The ad claims these health problems disappear after switching to Postum. The satire here targets the widespread medical claims of the era: dubious health warnings were common in advertisements, with doctors' endorsements lending false authority. The "There's a Reason" tagline was Postum's actual slogan, implying scientific backing. By 1919, such ads exploited public anxieties about health while promoting a competitor product. Modern readers should note this represents early advertising's unregulated use of medical pseudo-expertise—practices now restricted by FDA regulations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
r » a. & Y \V se “4 Doctors know that many annoying ills result from drinking coffee — And that such troubles usually disappear after a change to INSTANT POSTUM “There's a Reason” December 25, 1919 COMIECDOOKS=C pu