Life — January 19, 1905 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Life Auto Number: In a Thousand Years" This satirical cover by Albert Levering imagines a fantastical future where automobiles have become so dominant that society has transformed into an absurdist monarchy. Elaborately dressed rulers and nobles travel in ornate, oversized automobiles pulled by horses, while smaller cars carry passengers through a surreal landscape with castles and domed buildings. The satire likely mocks the early automobile craze and rapid motorization of American society in the 1910s-1920s. By extrapolating this trend to an exaggerated extreme—depicting cars as the center of civilization and royal status—Levering critiques society's obsession with this new technology and questions what prioritizing automobiles above all else might mean for human culture and values.