Life, 1922-12-07 · page 65 of 80
Life — December 7, 1922 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen advertisement**, not political satire. The image shows Santa Claus smoking a cigar while examining fountain pens, positioned as a Christmas gift endorsement. The ad's tagline—"The Daddy of them all"—plays on Santa's patriarchal gift-giving role. The copy emphasizes the pen as "the most acceptable of all Christmas presents," marketing it as a thoughtful, reliable luxury item. Four pen models are listed with prices ($2.50–$5.00), targeting different users: regular customers, students, women (the "Safety Type"), and professionals (doctors, lawyers, merchants). **For modern readers:** This reflects early 20th-century advertising conventions—using Santa and holiday sentiment to sell premium goods. Fountain pens were prestigious items then, making this a high-end Christmas gift pitch, not commentary on contemporary politics or social issues.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
i) g @ =: iy Watermanis(dea)Fountain Pen ffi IHE most acceptable of all Christmas presents. Its superior ity, beauty a iling reliability are life-long re- rs of your thoughtfulness and good judgement. . 12, Regular Type. Holds more ink than any other type, Made in a great variety of sizes 92.50 and designs. and up PS \ \ M4 . Self Filling Type (fills automatically).. Par- Se Dre Se ponent) PS $9.50 school or ‘college. inde . Safe Ts (absolutely leak of). Can be Scie orate tat pes Gens $9.00 le up . Self Filling Type (fills automatically). Fo: doctors, neyo, merchants or authors. A 95.00 real man’s pen. and up Selection and Service at Best Dealers the World Over L. E. Waterman Company 191 Broadway, New York 24 School St. 129 So. State St. 17 Stockton St. Boston ‘Chicago ‘San Francisco comicbooks.com