Early Edwardian Loose leaf Advertisement for Lifebuoy Soap
Port Sunlight: Lever Brothers Limited, c. 1910. Loose leaf, in full colour, that appears to have formerly been tipped into another publication. Illustration of a man in a bath holding a bar of Lifebuoy soap with a box of soaps on the floor and a portrait of the Lifebuoy fisherman on the wall. Text reads "LIFEBUOY SOAP. Specially prepared for HANDS & BATH. Gives you that Healthy Feeling". Verso has the advertising text for Lifebuoy. Very good condition and still bright coloured, as it was kept enclosed in a book or magazine for most of its time. Clean and without creases etc. 160 x 115 mm (6¼ x 4½ inches).
Lever Brothers and other firms often commissioned many (now important) artists to produce their advertising for them. Will Owen (1869 – 1957) was an English book illustrator, cartoonist, caricaturist and a commercial and poster artist, possibly best known for his iconic images of the Bisto Kids, Bovril, Lux and Lifebuoy.