Life, 1923-09-13 · page 2 of 36
Life — September 13, 1923 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **a paid advertisement**, not satire or editorial content. It's a 1923 ad for American Radiator Company's Ideal Boilers, placed in *Life* magazine. The "cartoon" is actually a **product testimonial illustration** by M. Leone Bracker showing a man in Evanston, Illinois who has shoveled 750+ tons of coal over 30 years while using the same Ideal Boiler. The "750 TONS" sign emphasizes the boiler's durability. The ad's humor is gentle and practical rather than satirical—it uses a relatable scenario (fathers maintaining home heating) to argue that buying a good boiler is economical long-term. The "bedtime story for fathers" framing makes a mundane purchase seem wholesome and family-focused. This reflects 1920s advertising strategy: using credible customer stories to sell heating equipment during an era when coal furnaces were standard home infrastructure.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The coal he shovelled in 30 years —A true bed-time story for fathers UST before you fix the fire at bed-time, let us tell you this story of a father in Evanston, Illinois. He has had an IDEAL Boiler in his cellar for thirty years; it cost him new, about $275 (with- out radiators and piping.) His house is large. In these thirty years he has shovelled more than 750 tons of coal which, at an average cost of $10 a ton, amounts to $7,500 or 27 times the original cost of the boiler itself! Now what can we fathers learn from this story? Three things: 1. How amazingly IDEAL Boilers last. In 30 years there have been no repairs except a new grate, the old one having been “burned out through carelessness.” CHARLES DANA Gin: Le Roy Mitt BF. 2. How little any boiler costs in comparison with the cost of the coal it burns. Since the difference in the first cost is so small it is wisdom to buy the best. There have been many improvements in IDEAL Boilers, just as there have been im- provements in automobiles. It would pay any father to take out his old heating appa- ratus and install a modern IDEAL Boiler. It would cut his annual coal bill one-third, which would quickly pay for the new boiler. Moral: Every bed-time story has a moral. The moral of this story is contained in the free book that will come to you in response to your request at either address below. The book tells why you can take out your old heater and in- stall a modern IDEAL Boiler, and by doing so, put much less money into the fire and much more into the bank. © ARCO 1933 AMERICAN RADIATOR COMPANY IpgAt Boilers and AMERICAN Radiators for every heating need ERI RADIATORS 104 West 42nd Street, Dept.120 NEW YORK IDEAL BOILERS 816 So. Michigan Ave., Dept. 120 " CHICAGO comicbooks.com