Life — October 17, 1907 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Motor-Car Number" - Life Magazine, October 17, 1907 This cartoon depicts a cherub or cupid-like figure lying beneath an early automobile, appearing crushed or run over. The car displays text reading "THE MIDDLETOWN OIL" and warns "NOT TO BE MUTILATED OR TAKEN FROM THIS BUILDING." The satire targets the dangers of automobiles in the early 1900s. The cherub—traditionally representing innocence, love, or life itself—lies destroyed under the vehicle, suggesting that cars symbolized destruction of these values or posed serious public safety hazards. This reflects contemporary anxieties about automobiles, which were novel, unregulated, and caused frequent fatal accidents. The cartoon mocks both the vehicles themselves and the warning signs attempting to protect company property, implying that machines posed greater danger to human life than corporations cared about protecting their assets.