Life, 1925-04-30 · page 42 of 42
Life — April 30, 1925 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a full-page advertisement for Crane plumbing fixtures, appearing in *Life* magazine. The image shows a luxurious bathroom display featuring Pompeian-style decoration in rose and black, Italian marble surfaces, and high-end fixtures. The ad emphasizes that bathroom design deserves careful aesthetic consideration, as renovations are costly and permanent. The sales pitch targets affluent homeowners by framing bathroom fixtures as expressions of "character and charm" rather than mere utilities. It promotes Crane's products across multiple showrooms and international locations, offering design consultations through their "New Art of Fine Bathrooms" guidebook. This reflects early 20th-century American consumer culture, where domestic luxury—particularly the modern bathroom—became a status symbol and mark of refined taste.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
In no detail of the modern home are thought and taste so amply repaid as in the design and equipment of bathrooms. To avoid the commonplace and choose distinctive settings and fixtures is doubly important, since changes are not easily made after the work is completed. In this Crane bathroom, character and charm are secured with simple materials. The walls are of painted plaster, with Pompeian decoration in rose and black and painted cornice and wainscot. Dull black floor tiles. Marmor lavatory and dressing table have tops of white Italian marble. Ternia bath and Crystal shower. Crane plumbing and heating fixtures are sold by contractors only, in a wide va- riety of styles at prices within reach of all. Write for our book of color schemes, “The New Art of Fine Bathrooms.” CRANE GENERAL OFFICES: CRANE BUILDING, 836 S. MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO CRANE LIMITED: CRANE BUILDING, 386 BEAVER HALL SQUARE, MONTREAL. Branches and Sales Offices in One Hundred and Forty-cight Cities National Exhibit Rooms: Chicage, New York, Atlantic City, San Francie end Montreal CRANE-BENNETT, Lrp., LONDON NE: PARIS, NANTES, BRUSSELS Crane Newmar Lasetory comicbooks.com