Life, 1906-03-01 · page 46 of 46
Life — March 1, 1906 — page 46: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **automobile advertisement** for the F.B. Stearns Company (Cleveland, Ohio), dated March 1, 1906. The page advertises a "One Model 45 Horse Power" automobile by emphasizing American craftsmanship and quality. The text boasts that Stearns cars use premium materials sourced globally, employ refined design, and require over 2,100 hours of skilled labor per vehicle—parts fitting together with precision "like your watch lid." The rhetorical question "By what process could any maker, anywhere, produce a better car? Where is another so made?" is a sales pitch claiming superior manufacturing, not satire. The vehicle image shows an early 1900s touring car with open seating, large spoked wheels, and exposed engine—typical luxury automobile design of the era. **Context for modern readers:** This reflects the early automotive industry's emphasis on handcrafted quality and American manufacturing pride, before mass production became standard.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Seck first perfection of workmanship. Poor materials do not warrant it. Bad design is not worthy of it. The materials in the Stearns Car are brought from any country that makes tte best—each for its purpose, The design is a refinement of accepted practice and shows no afterthoughts. Chey are worthy of The workmanship that has never been equalled in skill and in the time spent on each car, More than 2100 hours’ labor (10 months of working days) by expert American machinists in finishing each Stearns Car makes the parts Re "a they snap together like your watch lid, bang tight, yet part in the ands, By what process could any maker, anywhere, produce a better car? bere is another so made ? greater than any other ism the world has produced aK ails? The F. B. STEARNS CO. se« York Branch, Boston Agents, Chicago Agents Member AL. ALM 121 W. 8%h Street, Reed-Undethill Co., Githens Bros. Co., 2990 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio Geo. F- Woolston, Mgr. 222.4 Columbus Ave. 1328.30 Michigan Av March 1, 1906, Vv rene et Aa? pa -_ —— > Pon wal a To ~ ewer comicbooks.com