Life, 1927-12-01 · page 60 of 80
Life — December 1, 1927 — page 60: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes Milano pipes, manufactured by WM. Demuth & Co., a New York pipe maker. The design features silhouettes of four different male head profiles (numbered 1447, 1728, 1739, 1761), each with a pipe, illustrating the variety of pipe styles available. The advertisement's message is that Milano offers "more than half a hundred shapes for your choosing"—pipes suited to different face types and lifestyles (work, play, ease). The marketing emphasizes quality Italian briar wood and an "Insured" guarantee (identifiable by a white triangle on the stem). Prices start at $3.50 for plain or rustic finishes. This reflects early-to-mid 20th-century consumer advertising that used visual variety and pseudo-scientific appeals (matching pipes to facial types) to promote products. The silhouette technique was common in period advertising for showing product range.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
No. 1447 No. 1728 No. 1739 No. 1761 PIPES for every face and frame of mind—pipes for work, for play, for ease —more than half a hundred shapes for your choosing. Milanos are fashioned from century-old Italian briar—the sweetest, cool- est, most beautiful wood for pipes. “Insured” for your protection. Look for the white triangle on the stem. All popular models —plain or rustic finish—$3.50 up. WM. DEMUTH & CO., 230 Fifth Ave., N. Y. City World's Largest Makers of Fine Pipes MILAN “Cthe Insured Pipe” No. 1445 comicbooks.com