Life — May 21, 1903 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It features a Columbia Electric Victoria automobile advertisement from the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The ad showcases the vehicle as combining "art and utility," emphasizing its appeal to female drivers—note the elegant woman illustrated and the text noting "ease of control adapted it admirably to ladies' use." The scenic photograph at top depicts the car in a pastoral landscape, suggesting leisurely recreational driving. The decorative female head illustrations flanking the advertisement reflect early 1900s aesthetic conventions. This represents marketing strategy targeting affluent women as automobile consumers during the electric vehicle era, before gasoline engines dominated the market.