Life — July 12, 1929 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **cigarette advertisement**, not political satire. It shows Raleigh brand cigarettes with packaging displayed and an Elizabethan-era portrait (likely Sir Walter Raleigh, the cigarette brand's namesake) featured on the box. The ad's tagline—"Blended puff-by-puff"—emphasizes the product's tobacco blend quality. The bottom copy reads "Twenty Cents {PLAIN OR TIPPED}" and includes a tongue-in-cheek line: "and if they cost twenty dollars they couldn't please more people $ nor please any people more." This is straightforward product marketing from the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation (Louisville, Kentucky), using historical imagery to brand the cigarettes with an air of prestige and tradition. There is no political commentary or satirical intent here.