The Good [Friday] Life

To mix a metaphor, this ad from 1925 plucks every sentimental string in the book. From the iconic country cottage, humble but perfect in its orchard setting and leaded glass windows to the exultation of innocence, with the child and her precious chick, it's impossible to resist the charm of it all.

The atmosphere is so idyllic that is distracts from—or does it underscore?—the curious fact that the kitchen has essentially only one feature in it: the sink. Which is, of course, the objective of the image.

Rendered in brilliant, resurrection-white, even though the basin in the background, it's the center of this scene, offering the promise of modernity to a pastoral life.