Life, 1920-03-04 · page 50 of 78
Life — March 4, 1920 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **four advertisements** from approximately the 1910s-1920s, with no satirical cartoons despite the "Life" magazine masthead. **The ads promote:** 1. **Stetson hats** — positioning the product as a status symbol for discerning men 2. **Girard cigars** — using a mechanical metaphor ("lubricating the works") to suggest the cigar provides gentle pleasure without harmful "friction" or wear on the body 3. **The Hollenden hotel** (Cleveland) — emphasizing luxury service to attract wealthy clientele, with room rates listed 4. **The Elphdi automobile** — a whimsical aircraft-car hybrid priced at $374, asking "HOW SOON?" to build anticipation The Girard ad is notable for its health-conscious pitch—a common early 20th-century marketing tactic claiming cigars were beneficial rather than harmful. The airplane-car reflects the era's fascination with emerging aviation technology. These are straightforward product advertisements rather than political or social satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
STETSON fe are never quite enough STETSONS to go around—just another instance of how alert men appreciate fine style and thorough bred Quality. JOHN B. STETSON COMPANY Philadelphia, U.S. A. GIRARD Never gets on your nerves Action Doesn’t Wear Men Out —It’s Friction When you listen to good music or look at “Life” or enjoy a mild and fragrant cigar like the Girard you are “lubricating the works.” But you wouldn't flood a fine watch with heavy machine oil. The Girard gives you all the enjoyment without the harm. It is the cigar above all for health and pleasure combined, Antonio Roig & Langsdorf, Philadelphia Established 49 years S RVICE, cuisine and accomodations must be unusually excel- lent to attract the sort of people who patronize THE HOLLENDEN RATES: Wed Bars + $250 to $5.00 + $4.00 to $6.00 + $5.00 to $7.00 HOW SOON? comicbooks.com