Life, 1921-05-05 · page 5 of 46
Life — May 5, 1921 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes Paradise Spring Water from Brunswick, Maine. The illustration depicts **Ponce de León**, the Spanish explorer, searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. The ad's conceit is humorous: while Ponce de León fruitlessly explored Florida seeking rejuvenation, Paradise Spring Water—available in Maine—allegedly offers the same benefits through mineral content and purity. The ad claims the water aids digestion, kidney function, and arterial health, promising to "keep you fit at fifty"—a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Fountain of Youth mythology. This represents typical early 20th-century patent medicine marketing: making exaggerated health claims through historical reference and pseudoscientific language about mineral water's curative properties.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| ny mle Ss If Ponce de Leon Had Found Paradise Spring— One of the first white men to land on the shores of America, this ad- venturous Spaniard roamed fruitlessly through Florida in search of a “Fountain of Youth.’’ And all the while, way up in what is now the state of Maine, flowed Paradise Spring! Paradise Spring—bubbling forth not with water of eternal life, perhaps—but with water of such absolute purity and health- building qualities as to actually increase the average person’s years of well-being. The function of drinking-water is to absorb . and flush poisonous wastes from the human system. If the water itself contains im- purities or insoluble matter, it naturally lacks solvent powers. And there is no pub- lic supply of water but what contains an appreciable amount of mineral matter, as well as the soluble elements of animal and vegetable matter. Filtration or other treat- ment cannot possibly free water from all of these impurities. Contrasted with ordinary, uncertain drink- ing water, Paradise Water—with but a single grain of solid matter in every 58,372 grains—stands supreme in purity. Because of this, its continued use has aided con- siderably in the relief of many cases of indigestion, constipation, acidity of the stomach, intestinal ailments, kidney trou- ble, articular rheumatism, prostatitis and the like. Paradise Water promotes the proper func- tioning of the kidneys, which in turn makes for a healthier condition of the arteries and heart. Paradise, therefore, by tending to ward off hardening of the arteries, is espec- ially beneficial for people past middle life. \t will keep you fit at fifty! Paradise Water is clear as crystal—delight- ful in taste—a perfect table water. Packed in convenient cases of quarts, pints, and half-pints. Natural or Carbonated. At grocers and drug stores. Write for free booklet, ‘The Story of Paradise Spring,’’ and names of dealers who handle Paradise Water in your city. PARADISE SPRING COMPANY, BRUNSWICK, MAINE ‘PARADISE WATER comicbooks.com