Life — November 8, 1929 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Raleigh Cigarettes Advertisement This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. The page features two caricatured figures in 18th-century colonial dress (tricorn hats, period clothing) exchanging what appears to be a cigarette pack. The imagery invokes Sir Walter Raleigh, the historical figure associated with introducing tobacco to England. The ad's humor lies in anachronistic exaggeration—depicting ancient colonials as modern cigarette consumers. The text claims Raleigh's "first American appearance in some 400 years was made only a few months ago in New York," personifying the cigarette brand as Raleigh himself arriving as a newcomer. The sales pitch emphasizes a secret "blend" of 31 tobacco grades at twenty cents per pack. This was vintage early-20th-century advertising conflating historical prestige with consumer product appeal.