Life, 1921-07-14 · page 27 of 34
Life — July 14, 1921 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **watch advertisement**, not political satire. It features Olaf Ohlson, identified as an "Inventor and Master Watchmaker," promoting Waltham's precision manufacturing. The page emphasizes American industrial superiority by contrasting Waltham's scientifically engineered watches with "foreign hand-made" competitors. The advertisement targets gentlemen by showcasing technical precision—the escape wheel must vary less than 1/2000th of an inch—as proof of reliability and quality. The rhetoric reflects early 20th-century American confidence in industrial technology and mass production as superior to European craftsmanship. The Waltham Octagon Opera Watch ($95, expensive for the era) positions precise American manufacturing as a mark of dependable, lifetime value—an implicit nationalist argument about product superiority wrapped in technical specifications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
h; sing, UNDE LE e E te OLAF OHLSON Invenine and Master Watchmaker era 4 mre ACCURACY The Various Dimensions of the Escape Wheel must not vary One Half-Thousandth of an Inch Waltham (Octagon) Opera Watch A gentlemen’s time-piece Extremely thin without sacrificing accuracy $95.00 and up IVIDE an inch into two thousand parts and you have the limit of measure- ment variation allowed by Waltham in making this important wheel. For example, the impulse sur- faceof the escape wheel tooth is a vital factor for an accu- rate performance, and when made within the limit of measurement variation al- lowed by Waltham, it means the difference between vari- able and dependable time- keeping in your watch. Waltham horologists invent- ed, and devoted years to per- fecting, gauges that would measure so precisely these various important factors of the escape wheel. The varia- tion which is present in the foreign hand-madewatch has been eliminated in the Wal- tham. Therefore, we affirm that the Waltham Watch contains the world’s most accurately made escapement. This is frankly ad- mitted by leading horologists, and is one of the reasons why the Waltham Watch is famous for its close and dependable time-keeping. The Waltham Watch contains more fundamental superiorities in its “works” than any other watch in the world. When you buy a Waltham your investment is protected and you are assured of a life-long satisfaction. This story is continued in a beautiful booklet in which you will find a liberal watch education. Sent free upon request to the Waltham Watch Company, Waltham, Mass. Makers of the famous Waltham air friction quality Speedometers and Automobile Time-pieces used on the world’s leading cars WALTH AM THE WORLD'S WATCH OVER TIME Where you see this sign they sell Waltham Watches comicbooks.com