Life, 1923-09-27 · page 35 of 36
Life — September 27, 1923 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes "Bostonians" shoes, manufactured by Commonwealth Shoe & Leather Co. of Boston and Whitman, Massachusetts. The ad employs pseudo-scientific marketing language to sell shoes as ergonomically superior. It claims that feet spread 3/8 of an inch per mile walked, and argues that Bostonians shoes are specially "balanced" to accommodate this expansion while maintaining comfort and style. The copy suggests the shoe molds to individual foot shape, providing both immediate comfort and lasting appearance. The illustration shows "The Lenox" model—a lace oxford in tan and black—presented as the embodiment of this balanced design philosophy. The tagline "Friends for Your Feet" positions the shoes as trustworthy companions, while the price range ("Seven to Twelve Dollars") indicates these were mid-range products. This appears to be early-to-mid 20th-century advertising using period marketing tropes about scientific shoe design.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“A lace oxford with flat fast lines m last and upper Made mm tan and black.” The LENOX THE BALANCE IS THE THING THAT COUNTS Yo take 2000 steps to every mile. And your foot spreads % of an inch at every step! Your new shoe fits your foot —which of them is going to change its shape nearly half an inch the first mile you walk? The shoe, of course! BOSTONIANS are “balanced” for that very purpose — the spread is so evenly distributed that you et real comfort without the slightest fies of the original style and beauty. Because your own foot shape is designed into them, BOSTONIANS feel as well as they look the first day, and look as well as they feel every day afterwards. Why not try out a pair today?—a good shoe store in your town will be glad to show your own special shape. Seven to Twelve Dollars COMMONWEALTH SHOE & LEATHER CO., BOSTON AND WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS comicbooks.com