Life, 1928-11-30 · page 41 of 52
Life — November 30, 1928 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **typewriter advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The "satire" is subtle and reveals 1920s-30s gender assumptions. The ad depicts a man and woman in a domestic scene, positioning a Corona typewriter as a Christmas gift "for HER"—yet the copy's actual pitch is to the male gift-giver: he can "borrow it now and then yourself." The humor trades on the notion that a man gives his wife/girlfriend a "practical" gift he intends to use, framing shared ownership as mutually beneficial rather than selfish. The illustration shows the woman seated at the machine while the man stands proprietarily nearby, reinforcing the era's gender dynamics: the typewriter is nominally "hers" but really his to share. The advertisement emphasizes the machine's durability ("your manly touch can't hurt it"), beauty ("ornamental"), and affordability ($60, with payment plans), marketing it as the perfect gift that solves "the annual problem"—presumably the difficulty of choosing Christmas presents.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CO RONA for An easy way to solve the annual problem “Trea a wee touch of selfish- ness in your gift of a Corona to HER— you're probably intending to borrow it now and then yourself! And why not? Corona can be lent with impunity. Your manly touch can’t hurtit any more than can her own dainty fingers. For Corona is a marvel of sturdy simplicity. Itholdsthe world’srecord for durability. Not the least of Corona’s charms is its appearance. We be- lieve that a typewriter in the home should be ornamental as well as useful. Hence the graceful “streamline” of its frame — the delicate beauty of its Duco colors. Complete to the last detail, Corona has more “big machine” features than any other portable typewriter, yet the price is only $60 for either black or colored machines — and we will gladly arrange a convenient schedule of monthly payments. At typewriter stores everywhere. Write us for the latest Corona catalog. LC Smith & Corona Typewriters Inc Established 1903 1205 E. Washington St., Syracuse, N. Y. Sales offices in principal cities of the eworld comicbooks.com