Life, 1924-11-20 · page 40 of 40
Life — November 20, 1924 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Prudential Insurance advertisement** dressed as historical content, using Charles Carroll of Carrollton (a Declaration of Independence signer) as its pitch. **The Historical Figure:** Carroll lived 1735–1832, the last surviving Declaration signer. He witnessed America's founding and industrial expansion (laying the B&O Railroad cornerstone in 1828). His family added "of Carrollton" to distinguish him from cousins with the same name. **The Sales Angle:** Prudential exploits Carroll's longevity to argue that life insurance lets people "project influence" across generations—just as Carroll's great-granddaughter married Irish nobility. The subtext: without insurance, your family loses security; with it, your legacy endures. **The Dark Tagline:** "If every wife knew what every widow knows—every husband would be insured" implies widows face financial ruin, using shame to motivate male breadwinners to buy policies. The cartoon at top shows Carroll signing the Declaration while crowds celebrate—romanticizing patriotism to associate Prudential with American values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tr simplest estate you can leave your family is Monthly Income Life Insurance. The Prudential issues this in various flexible and convenient forms to run as many years as you wish, or for the lifetime of your beneficiary. It is insurance that Insures the Insurance. * The little Prudential book of the fifty-six signers of the Dec- laration of Independence, and a copy of the Constitution of the United States, will be sent with our compliments, on your request. He Gave His Home Address “CT THERE goa few millions,” exclaimed some one when Charles Carroll, owner of a good part of Maryland, signed the Declaration of Independence. The famous “of Carrollton” was added to protect his cousins, with three generations of the same name. Of the fifty-five who signed with him, only three remained alive on the third of July, 1826, On the MwA next day, the Fiftieth Anniversary, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died, leaving Carroll the only survivor. Born when Maryland was a wilderness, Charles Carroll’s ninety years spanned two eras in history. And the old gentleman lived to lay, on July 4, 1828, the foundation stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, running from the Eastern metropolis to the frontiers of the West. Of his granddaughter’s marriage to the Viceroy of Ireland, a distinguished friend remarked: “In the land from which his father’s father fled in fear, his daughter's daughter now reigns as queen.” . Not every man can, like Charles Carroll, live and do important things in two centuries, But all of us can, through Life Insurance, so arrange our lives as to project our influence and protect our interests for many years to come. THE PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA EDWARD D. DUFFIELD President HOME OFFICE: NEWARK New Jeney AGIA vLO52 IF EVERY WIFE KNEW WHAT EVERY WIDOW KNOWS—EVERY HUSBAND WOULD BE INSURED comicbooks.com