Life, 1921-03-10 · page 36 of 36
Life — March 10, 1921 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **tobacco advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Velvet pipe tobacco by Liggett & Myers. The illustration shows a man with a pipe and a package of Velvet tobacco. The ad uses personification, describing tobacco's heritage: "Burley" (a tobacco variety) as the "daddy," Kentucky Leaf as the mother, and aging in wooden barrels as the mellowing process. The character "Velvet Joe" provides the tagline: a man smoking pipe tobacco is never truly alone—a comfort message typical of early 20th-century tobacco marketing. This represents pre-1960s advertising when health warnings were absent and tobacco companies freely marketed cigarettes and pipe tobacco with lifestyle and emotional appeals. Modern readers should note the stark contrast with today's heavily regulated tobacco advertising and mandatory health warnings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘ Know You, Velvet— “Why, bless your heart of Burley, your daddy is old Prize Kentucky Leaf—and Mother Nature mel- lowed you while you ripened two years in wooden hogsheads. “I'd know you on the first puff—so full of life. I'd know you on the last load—so good and tasty. And as Velvet Joe says: — “A man may be alone with his pipe an’ Velvet, but he’s never onelye™ Liccett & Myers Tosacco Co- —— Cmerica’s smoothest smoke comicbooks.com