Life, 1924-01-10 · page 43 of 44
Life — January 10, 1924 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page **advertisement for Statler Hotels**, not a political cartoon or satire. The page promotes the hotel chain's amenities and competitive pricing to early 20th-century travelers. The appeal emphasizes modernization and consumer transparency: private bathrooms in every room (a luxury feature then), free newspapers, standardized pricing posted visibly, and thoughtful details like desk lamps and sewing supplies. The text stresses that Statler rates match competitors despite superior amenities—a value proposition. The signature at bottom appears to be from a Statler executive guaranteeing service quality and employee conduct. Lists name several Statler properties (Buffalo, Detroit, Boston) and the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. This reflects an era when hotel amenities were still novel selling points and when advertising emphasized reliability, fairness, and modern conveniences to appeal to business travelers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Some Extra Values You Get in These Hotels: M™ of the newer of the country’s first-class hotels give you some of these things; but, so far as we know, the Statlers are still unique in offering all of them: Every—every—troom in these hotels has a private bath, circulating ice-water, fulllength mirror, completely-equipped writing desk, reading- lamp on bed-head or portable reading lamp, desk-lamp, pincushion (with threaded needles, buttons, etc.), besides the more usual conveniences. A morning paper is delivered free to every guest room. Everything sold at the news stands —Cigars, cigarettes, tobaccos, news papers, etc.—is sold at prevailing street or street-store prices. You pay no more here than elsewhere. In each hotel is a cafeteria, or a lunch-counter, or both—in addition to its other excellent restaurants. Club breakfasts—good club break- fasts—are served in all the hotels. Each hotel maintainsa largeand well- selected library; you may withdraw books and keep them as long as you remain in the hotel, without charge. The rate of every roomisshownbya printed, framed card, permanently at- tached tothe wall of that room. You know that you_pay no more, no less for that room than do other guests. And the Rates Though every room has private bath and running ice-water, Statler rates are no higher than those of other first-class hotels —which means that they give you extra values, whatever the rate. These hotels are well-balanced, too; more than 82° of all rooms in Hotels Statler are $5 or less, as are also more than 55“ of all those in Hotel Pennsylvania. of Statler Service A per tt twe Square. The old w on Hotel Pennsylvania ‘New Yor The largest hotel in and Statler~operated dence and Arlington Sex HOTELS td Every room has private bath and running ice-water; in every room is posted its rate, printed in plain figures. comicbooks.com