This ad shows two men together, one who is ready for shower or bed (bathroom behind him), getting a light for his cigarette from another man whom he lives with, sitting in a chair. Because of its age, this ad is Gay Vague, but presents an intriguing study.

Gay reference in the early 1900s was a coded affair, with red ties symbolizing homosexuality in New York’s gay underworld, and requests to light a cigarette a subtle way to initiate contact between men.