Life, 1907-03-21 · page 37 of 40
Life — March 21, 1907 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **luxury car advertisement**, not satire. The "cartoon" depicts well-dressed passengers enjoying a leisurely drive in a Stearns automobile, emphasizing comfort and status. The ad's claim—that America has produced no rival to the Stearns, and that importing a foreign car costs double—reflects early 1900s automotive competition. The phrase "The Car with the White Line" (visible on the vehicle) was apparently the brand's marketing tagline. The text boasts of 2,100 hours of skilled labor per vehicle and positions the Stearns as "The Best Automobile" through meticulous craftsmanship. At $4,500 (substantial for the era), it targets wealthy buyers. The extensive dealer list across major American cities underscores the company's reach. This represents a period when American automobiles were still competing for legitimacy against European imports—before American mass production would dominate the market.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Ghe Car with the White Line’ America has not produced a rival to the Stearns. We are ready to show any intending purchaser of a high-grade car to his entire satisfaction that he must import a car at double or more cost to get its equal. 2100 hours’ labor by the most skilled workmen in the world are put on the finishing alone of No other maker in the world gives so much time to anything but a special racer. It is this unmatched care employed in working out a perfected design from the finest materials so far discovered in the world that proves that the Stearns is ‘The Best Automobile.” Immediate Delivery. $4500. 30-60 h. p. The easy-running qualities of a ‘'30"' in highest perfection—the power of a‘*60"' when needed. The catalogue tells how. Write to-day. F. B. STEARNS CO. (acts) 2990 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 0. NEW YORK: Wyckoff, Church & Partridge, B’way at 56th St. BOSTON, MASS.: A. E. Morison Co. PITTSBURG, PA.: Fort Pitt Automobile Co., Euclid Ave. PHILADELPHIA, PA.: The Motor Shop, 317 North Broad St. and Baum St. SCOTTDALE, PA.: Scottdale Automobile Co. ROCHESTER, N. Y.: United States Automobile Co. CINCINNATI, lughes Automobile Co., 608 Broadway ST. LOUIS: Reyburn Motor Car Co., 5023 Delmar Boulevard ATLANTA, GA.: Capital City Automobile Co. CHICAGO, ILL.: Githens Bros. Co., 1328 Michigan Ave. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.: Automobile Co., 365 Fell St. f ) WHEELING, W. VA. R. H. Mahlke LOS ANGELES, CAL.: A. H. Braley each Stearns car. comicbooks.com