Life, 1907-01-10 · page 24 of 24
Life — January 10, 1907 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not political satire. It promotes Franklin automobiles, manufactured in Syracuse, New York. The illustration depicts an elegantly dressed woman operating a Franklin car, emphasizing the vehicle's luxury and ease of use—key selling points for early 1900s automobiles, which were still novel and often difficult to operate. The ad's tagline, "Franklin luxuriousness is the big result of many small perfections," highlights specific technical innovations: a self-finding gear-shift, automatic control, air-cooling (rather than water-cooling, common then), and lightweight construction. These features promised "power, speed, safety and comfort." The price range ($1,800–$4,000) targeted wealthy consumers. The woman driver was notable imagery for 1907, subtly suggesting the Franklin's accessibility even to female operators—still relatively progressive for the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Janwary 10, 1907 Franklin luxuriousness is the big result of many small perfections. The self-finding Franklin gear-shift with which a driver cannot go wrong; the automatic control, by which you can run the car almost without gears; Franklin air-cooling, which produces unequaled power for motor-size; and the light weight, non-jarring construction which gives full and comfortable use of that power on any road—all this means power, speed, safety and comfort—a. complete motoring enjoyment found only in Franklin cars. Write for the latest edition of the Franklin 1907 catalogue. A book worthy of the cars. Shaft-drive Runabout $1800 Four-cylinder Touring-car $2800 Four-cylinder Touring-car $1850 Six-cylinder Touring-car $4000 H. H. FRANKLIN MEG. CO., Syracuse, N. Y., M. A. L. A. M. || Veess of Nevticly Brothers, New Fork