Life, 1904-07-14 · page 20 of 44
Life — July 14, 1904 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement for the Winton Motor Carriage, a Cleveland-based automobile manufacturer. The ad uses a cowboy figure on horseback alongside the vehicle to suggest reliability through endurance testing. The key sales pitch: "Merit undergoes a thorough test...It is a long run from Mexico to Puget Sound. The WINTON has made them both and WINTON merit has been thoroughly proved." This claims the car has proven itself across transcontinental distances—a major selling point in the early automobile era when long-distance reliability was uncertain. The tagline "WINTON is KING: It wears the crown of excellence" positions the brand as superior. The cowboy imagery evokes American frontier toughness and proven durability, appealing to masculine buyers skeptical of newfangled technology. The price—$2,500 fully equipped—targets wealthy consumers. This is straightforward product advertising rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IN_THE LONG RUN Merit undergoes a thorough test. It is a long run across the continent. It is a long | run from Mexico to Puget Sound. The WINTON has made them both and WINTON merit has been thoroughly proved. The wise man does not experiment unnecessarily; he buys a WINTON. Completely equipped with canopy top, lamps, horn, tools, etc., $2500: without The Winton Motor Carriage Co., “s";" CLEVELAND, OHIO, U, S. A. ) Branch Houses 1a New York, Doston, Philadelphia and Chicago. WINTON AGENCIE3 EVERYWHERE, PRESS OF THE J. W. PRATT CO. NEW YORK comicbooks.com