Life, 1909-02-04 · page 29 of 40
Life — February 4, 1909 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It's a vintage Oldsmobile car ad from Life magazine's advertising section. The image depicts an elegantly dressed couple in an early automobile, with the woman in fashionable fur and the man driving. The ad's message targets affluent consumers, emphasizing reliability and "real pleasure of motoring" as selling points. **What's notable for modern readers:** The prices ($2,750–$4,200) and gender dynamics reflect the era—automobiles were luxury items, and the woman is portrayed as a passenger being transported by the male driver, embodying early 20th-century gender roles. The language about "absolute confidence" in machinery reflects how novel and anxiety-inducing car ownership was at the time. This represents the automotive industry's early marketing to the wealthy before cars became mass-market commodities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OUR point of view of motoring is _ ~ determined by the car youown: pleas- ureand comfortare dependenton its year- in-and-year-out reliability. Riding in an OLDSMOBILE the machinery is only apparent asan unobtrusive source of power—boundless, yet delightfully responsive. Inevitably the Oldsmobile owner learns to place abso- lute confidence in his car.... and he experiences the real pleasure of motoring. Four-cylinder cars $2750. Closed bodies for each chassis. Six-cylinder cars $4200. Details sent on request. OLDS MOTOR WORKS Lansing, Mich. OLDSMOBILE CO. OF CANADA, LIMITED 80 KING STREET EAST, TORONTO, ONT. comicbooks.com