Judge, 1920-12-25 · page 32 of 33
Judge — December 25, 1920 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an **advertisement**, not a political cartoon or satire. It's a Stanley Motor Carriage Company promotional page from *Judge* magazine's Twenty-Fifth Year. The page argues for steam-powered cars over the increasingly popular gasoline ("internal explosive") automobiles of the era. Stanley emphasizes their vehicle's technical advantages: smooth operation, no gear-shifting, reliable winter performance, and single throttle control—all benefits of their steam-engine design. The implicit point: Stanley is defending an older technology against newer competition. While presented as straightforward marketing, the advertisement subtly acknowledges that gasoline cars are becoming the market standard ("present-day vogue"), positioning Stanley's steam cars as the superior alternative despite losing market dominance. This reflects early automotive history when multiple power sources competed before gasoline engines ultimately prevailed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What the Public Wants zs supplied most fully in the new Stanley Car HIS statement is made advisedly in full recognition of the present-day vogue of internal explosive cars. The reason why the Stanley has the qualities most wanted in a motor car— why it has power at low speeds — why it has the fastest pickup — why it runs smoothly and quietly at all speeds — why there is no clutching nor gear-shifting — why there is no chilling nor balking in winter —why one throttle controls the car—why kerosene fuel is used — is because the fuel is burned, not exploded, and is converted into steam which is stored in advance and may be instantly applied in the required volume to the driving wheels. We believe that this is power correctly generated, correctly controlled, and correctly applied to the rear axle. Twenty-Fifth Year Stanley Motor Carriage Company Newton, Massachusetts comichooks.