Life, 1920-10-07 · page 45 of 56
Life — October 7, 1920 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. It promotes Irish linen through two contrasting scenes: **Top illustration**: Shipwreck survivors sharing a meal on a beach, using salvaged canvas as a tablecloth. The caption emphasizes that even in disaster, civilized people maintain proper dining customs. **Bottom illustration**: An elegant formal dinner party with well-dressed diners around a properly set table with fine linens. **The message**: True Irish Linen is presented as an "indispensable" of civilized life—essential whether dining after catastrophe or at formal occasions. The advertisement argues that quality tablecloths are a marker of good taste and civilization itself, not a luxury. This reflects early 20th-century upper-class values emphasizing propriety and refinement. The tagline "There is no substitute for True Irish Linen" positions the product as fundamental to maintaining social standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
nd you seven varios ps the Applic. vn into of the gns of ied by ou em- half of st Suge ith the vailable thereby to ex iM feel | know remark od, When people of good taste dine, True Irish Linen is spread to make a background worthy of the occasion. This lovely fabric is also represented there in the form of haberdashery and lingerie. True Irish Linen is one of the ‘indispensables’ of life. IRISH LINEN SOCIETY BELFAST, IRELAND Cyhere is no substitute for rue Trish ‘Using a square of canvas from the torn sail, as a table- cloth, we spread our first meal after the wreck.” The habits of civilization rise above disaster. The first natural requisite of any meal is a fair white cloth. comicbooks.com