Life, 1929-02-01 · page 4 of 40
Life — February 1, 1929 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Sesamee luggage lock advertisement** placed in Life magazine, not political satire or cartoon content. The illustration depicts a customs or travel inspection scene at a port, showing officials examining luggage. The ad promotes "keyless" Sesamee locks—combination locks where "the key is eternally within the lock" via a secret number only the owner knows. The social context reflects early-20th-century travel anxieties: theft of luggage during international journeys. The advertisement positions the Sesamee lock as solving the problem of lost or stolen keys during travel, while maintaining security. Abercrombie & Fitch, presenting itself as "the greatest sporting goods store in the world," marketed this as a luxury travel solution for affluent customers. The "joke" is the liberation from carrying physical keys—a modern convenience claim for its era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ss Travel Certainly the modern idea ofkeyless yet lockable luggage has come for a perpetual stay. This not-too-honest world demands locks — but with Sesamee-locked luggage thereare no keys to misplace, lose, fuss about or be stolen. The key is eternally within the lock and a magic unfor- gettable number in your mind. A Sesamee lock opens when the dials are turned to your own secret num- ber that not even the SESAMEE This is the only keyless lock which can be set by you to open at any num- ber you alone decide upon. without keys... man who made the lock knows. While we recommend keyless lug- gage, we are also able to supply you with the regular keyed-lock articles ina rich variety of genuine leathers. Many A. &F. luggage specialties are designed especially for those who travel for sports, pleasures and out- door life. We would be glad to show you some of the keyed and keyless luggage in styles to be found only in our store. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ‘THE GREATEST SPORTING GOODS STORE IN THE WORLD MADISON AE & 45 STREET, N.X.C, comicbooks.com