Life, 1924-11-27 · page 3 of 37
Life — November 27, 1924 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **commercial advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Ben Wade brand pipes as Christmas gifts, distributed by Hargraft & Sons of Chicago. The ad's humor is gentle rather than satirical: it depicts a man smoking a pipe, suggesting that a woman might be uncertain what gift to buy him—hence the instruction to "tear out HERE and Leave where she can see it," a common advertising gimmick. The copy emphasizes the pipe's quality: fine briar construction, no metallic coating, pure tobacco flavor, and no need for "breaking in." It claims thirty-six styles are available through tobacconists. This reflects early 20th-century consumer culture and gender norms (assuming women shop for men), rather than political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Do | | | | | ! ! | 1 | 1 You | Want a r ' British Pipe for C Chi Then tear out HERE and Leave where 1 | 1 | | 1 ! | | | | 1 | 1 | | 1 | \ | | ! | | l | | ! ] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ! I Sometimes it works! Probably she is pondering now over her gift—or gifts—to you. And what could be sweeter than a Ben Wade pipe? That’s just it! What could be sweeter—and we mean it literally, too, It’s the sweetest and mellowest. smoke that ever chased dull care away. No need to “break it in’?— it’s an old pipe from the first day on. Ben Wade’s special proc- ess does that for you. Notice the light colored finish inside the bowl. Different—from any pipe you’ve ever seen. The pores of the fine old seasoned brier are opened and kept open. No varnish to hide flaws, be- cause there are no flaws that need hiding. No metallic coat- ing. Nothing but fine briar that chars into a perfect “cake” but never burns, You taste the full flavor of your tobacco—all of that and only that. No wood smoke or varnish fumes make a playground of your tongue. You’re smoking a sweet and mellow pipe from the start. Be rather nice, won’t it, to find a Ben Wade pipe under the holly? There are thirty-six good looking shapes to choose from —but only one grade of excel- lence, no variation there. The town’s best tobacconists sell them. If sold out or has not yet been supplied, write to Distributors for America Churchill Downs Cigarettes Hudson's Bay Tobacco Ben Wade Pipes comicbooks.com