Life, 1907-02-07 · page 2 of 52
Life — February 7, 1907 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising content**, not political satire. The page features two car advertisements from the E.R. Thomas Motor Car Co. of Buffalo, NY, promoting the Thomas-Flyer and Thomas Forty models. The text makes claims about "Thomas reliability," asserting that during 1907, no Thomas component would break. It references the company's racing success, including winning the "Vanderbilt Cup" and an "American championship," plus the "daily performances of more than a thousand Thomas cars in use all over the country." The advertisements position Thomas cars as reliable competitors against the Ford, claiming both vehicles are "unquestioned leaders in their class." This represents early automotive marketing emphasizing durability and proven performance—standard advertising rhetoric rather than editorial commentary or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nort OMce at New Tort, Thomas - Flyer 60 H. P. THOMAS FLYER, $4,000 F. O. B. Factory By Thomas reliability we mean that it is our firm belief that during the entire season of 1907 not a single Thomas frame or transmission gear will break; and that neither motors, bearings, clutches, axles, steering-gear, radius rods or any vital structural part will develop the slighest trouble, not occasioned by neglect or accident. By the end of this year there will be several thousand Thomas touring cars in use. When we vouch for Thomas reliability, therefore, we speak not of one car, but of several thousand cars—and by reliability we mean unfailing reliability, every day in the year, in the hands of several thousand different owners. We assume full responsibility for the strong statement made in the opening paragraph. The buyer must look to the maker, not the agent, and ia buying a car you are entitled to the strongest assurance a responsible manulactrer can give you. ‘We bate our convictions concerning Thomas eclabilty: Firay opon the remarkable tea gren Thomas coastection ia 1906, when Thomas touring cars, driven at terrific speed by private owners, won every world’s record and endurance event in which they entered: including the American championship in the Vanderbilt Cup. Second, upon the constant daily per- formances ef more thaaa thaisind Thomee care in, use, alloted the country, TMi, upon the fath that ‘Thomad ton- aruction has engaged the services of the grester eagibecting geneiees of Europe, ae well aa 8 superb American mechacical force. Fourth, that more money has been expended in the tefinement and perfection of the Thomas car than any other car in the world, Do you know of another car that can pos- sibly offer as many claims to your consideration? Study both Thomas cars—The Flyer and The Forty—as unquestioned leaders in their class. THE THOMAS FORTY 40 H. P. $2,750, F. O. B. Factory E. R. Thomas Motor Car Co. BUFFALO, N. Y. comicbooks.com