Life, 1927-10-20 · page 42 of 48
Life — October 20, 1927 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not a political cartoon or satire. It's a Waterman's fountain pen ad from *Life* magazine promoting their "Number Seven" model priced at $7.20. The page uses a color-coding system as its marketing hook: each pen point type is identified by a colored band on the holder—Red (standard), Green (rigid, for salesmen/manifolding), Purple (fine, for accountants), Pink (flexible, for stenographers), Blue (blunt, for rapid writers), and Yellow (rounded, for left-handed writers). The appeal is practical: buyers can instantly identify which pen suits their profession or writing style without guessing. The ad emphasizes reliability ("Guaranteed since 1883 and until 1983—one hundred years of pen service") and invites customers to try all six points before selecting. There is no satire here—it's straightforward early-20th-century commercial messaging designed to solve a genuine consumer problem: pen point selection.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
$/20 Noumber Seven Made of beautiful resilient Ripple stainless rubber, protected with a lip- guard to prevent breaking, and an unequaled, patented filling device PICK YOUR PEN POINT BY COLOR Red —STANDARD-—Suits most writers. A splendid correspondence point. Medium flexibility. For home and general use. Green —RIGID—Tempered to armor plate hardness. Will not shade even under heavy pressure. Unequaled for manifold: ing. The salesman's friend. Purple—STIFF; FINE—Writes without pressure. Makes a thin, clear line and small figures with unerring accuracy. Popular with accountants. Pink— FLEXIBLE; FINE—As resili ent as a watch-spring. Fine, tapered point; ground fine to shade at any angle. Loved by stenographers. Blue—BLUNT—An improved stub point. This point makes a broad line. May be held in any position. Liked by rapid writers, Yellow —ROUNDED—A different pen point. The tip is ball shape. Makes a heavy, characteristic line without pressure. Suits lefthanded writers. We have solved the problem of pen point selec- tion. The color of the band on the holder tells -the whole story. You can now select with confi- dence exactly the pen point best writing requires. A fine, broad, stub, flexible or stiff point may be selected at a glance. You can’t go wrong. The mer- chant who sells Waterman's will be glad to demon- strate. He and we want you to be perfectly pleased. Ask to See Waterman’s Number Seven Try all six pen points. Select the one that suits you best When you buy a Waterman's you buy perpetual pen service. It will pay you to spend a few minutes in selecting exactly the pen you should have. Guaranteed since 1883 and until 1983— one hundred years of pen service L. E. Waterman Company, 191 Broadway, New York Chicago Boston ‘San Francisco Montreal Watermans . Ww comicbooks.cgm , %