Life, 1923-07-05 · page 40 of 40
Life — July 5, 1923 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Colgate's Rapid-Shave Cream advertisement** disguised as editorial content in Life magazine. The accompanying text is satirical commentary on American politics. It nostalgically mocks congressmen from "forty years ago" (approximately the 1870s) who wore prominent beards, suggesting that facial hair made politicians seem serious and authoritative—even when they had nothing substantive to say. The satire implies that beards allowed incompetent men to hide behind imposing appearances and avoid genuine public accountability. The joke: modern (clean-shaven) politicians can no longer hide behind whiskers and must face constituents openly and honestly. The advertisement then pivots this into a pitch: Colgate's cream makes shaving easier, therefore enabling politicians to be more transparent and accountable. It's a humorous, tongue-in-cheek sales pitch leveraging political commentary to sell grooming products—typical of Life magazine's advertising-editorial hybrid approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Forty years ago there were enough whiskers in Congress to stuff the cushions in eleven Pullman cars, with plenty left to make soft seats for the engineer and the fireman. It was seldom then that a man made a bare-faced attempt to get into public life. The Speaker of the House, «‘recognizing the gentleman from Massa- chusetts,’? saw a basketful of whiskers bobbing between two gesticulating arms, and assumed that there must be something serious in the wind. ‘The statesman’s wife, greeting him after his daily effort to save the nation, had to use the garden rake to find terminal facilities for her dutiful kiss, Fourth of July orators waved their whiskers, as well as the flag, and bristled defiantly wherever malevolent breezes blew. But let it be said for the men who guarded the destiny of the republic when Congress was bearded like a band of bashi bazouks that they had a good reason for shunning the razor. There was nothing then for making lather that would soften the hairs of the beard at the base, as Colgate’s Rapid-Shave Cream does. If the law-givers who filled the halls of state with variegated plumage could have lathered with Colgate’s, they would have had no excuse for failing to come out from behind their hairy en- tanglements to face their constituents openly. See the logical reasons why Colgate’s Rapid- Shave Cream makes shaving easier, and leaves softens the beard—at the base, where the razor’s work is done. The Cream takes up a great quantity of water and makes a lather consisting of microscopic bubbles which soften each hair 4 instantly where it meets the skin. It makes COLGATE ‘. | paar easier—and leaves the face soothed FeO | and velvety. 199 Falton Street S Fill out and mail the attached coupon ew York Ry | for a free trial tube containing cream enough tube of Calgnees Rave Sve for 12 shaves that will give you a happier Cream for better, easier shaving. . outlook on LIFE. COLGATE & CO. Est. 1806 NEW YORK Name comicbooks.com