Life, 1927-06-23 · page 2 of 38
Life — June 23, 1927 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Sheaffer's pen advertisement**, not political satire. The central image shows a dragon or mythical beast wielding writing instruments—a "Lifetime" pen and "Titan" pencil—as weapons or tools of success. The ad's humor plays on the metaphor of business competition as warfare: the creature uses pens and pencils as its "lion's share of success" in the marketplace. The ornate decorative border frames this fantastical image in a style typical of early-to-mid 20th century advertising design. The text emphasizes product quality and value ($8.75 for the Lifetime pen), claiming lifetime durability and reliability. The joke relies on anthropomorphizing writing instruments and associating them with dominance and conquest—suggesting Sheaffer products are essential weapons for professional success.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This great pen is having a lion’s share of success The world's vest pocket is loaded with Lifetime® pens, for each of which $8.75 has been paid. And the world buys judiciously. It pays %ood price for the best of its kind, and thereby practices true economy. It must have an unfailing pen. Therefore it buys the hand- some jade-radite pen with the little white dot, the pioneer of beauty in pendom. And so well is it made, as a matter of course, that it is guaranteed by the makers to perform faultlessly fora lifetime. Its sturdy twin, the Titan pencil, shares in this world-wide success. “Lifetime” pen, green or black, $8.75, Ladies’, $7.50—pencil, $4.25. Others lower At better stores everywhere SHEATFERS PENS: PENCILS? SKR . SHEAFFER PEN COMPANY - FORT MADISON. IOWA. U.S. A. an Francisco — Ou 60-62 Front St., W. alia + London—199 Regent St. comicbooks.com