Life, 1909-04-08 · page 21 of 32
Life — April 8, 1909 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not satire but **earnest advertising** for the White Motor Company's steam-powered automobiles. The page promotes the White Steamer as superior to gasoline cars, emphasizing its silence, smoothness, and lack of vibration—genuine advantages of steam over early internal-combustion engines. The ad leverages military endorsement: it quotes the U.S. Army Quartermaster-General praising the White for ambulance use due to its smooth operation and reliability. This appeals to civilian buyers by suggesting that if the government trusts it, so should they. Two car models are shown with their prices ($2,000 and $4,000). The copy argues that understanding automobiles requires test-driving a White, positioning it as the "correct car" for discerning purchasers. This reflects the early automotive era (likely pre-1920s) when steam and gasoline technologies competed directly, before gasoline engines ultimately dominated the market.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ge a wl oa THE WHITE STEAMER Is the Most Desirable Car HE White Steamer has many desirable qualities not possessed by any other automobile. It is the only car which is noiseless, odorless, smokeless and free from vibration. It is the only car which can be driven at any speed without the shifting of gears. For these reasons, the passengers in a White enjoy a degree of comfort not obtainable in any other type of car. ‘The Model “M” forty borse-power White Steamer The superiority of the White in these respects was well summed up in the following official report by the Quartermaster-general of the United States Army: “The White is simple in operation. The means of propulsion being steam, it is better suited for the transportation of the sick and wounded than gasolene cars on account of its free and smooth run- ning, freedom from violent vibration and ease of controlling the speed between maximum and minimum without jerks or jolts.” These considerations, which influenced the War Department (and later the Navy Department) to adopt the White exclusively for motor ambulance work, should be kept in mind by the private purchaser. You will quickly become dissatisfied with your automobile if you cannot ride in it with perfect comfort. The White is the simplest car to operate and it is the ideal machine for the man who wishes to drive and to care for his own car. The directions for driving the White are summed up in the phrase, “ Just open WRITE the throttle and steer.” It starts from the seat without “cranking.” It has no delicate parts and none requir- ing frequent adjustment. During the nine years that the White Steamer has been before the public, it has gained a reputation for unequaled reliability. More White cars have been made and sold than any other make of large touring car, and therefore the purchaser of a White receives the benefit of an experience in designing and building not obtainable elsewhere. Those in whose judgment the nation has the most confidence use the White, thereby stamping it as the “correct car.”’ The White is made in two distinct models which, although differing widely in size, in power and in price, The Model “O" twenty horse-power White Steamer resemble each other in their general lines of construc- tion. The twenty horse-power White sells at $2,000 and the forty horse-power White sells at $4,000 f£. 0. b, Cleveland. Your automobile education is incomplete until you have ridden in a White Steamer. In fact, if you pur- chase a car without investigating the White, you are acting with only a partial understanding of present-day attainments in the construction of automobiles. FOR CATALOG THE WHITE COMPANY Cleveland, Ohio BRANCH OFFICES Broadway at 62d Street, New York City 320 Newbury Street, Boston 1460 Market Street, San Francisco 629-33 North Broad Street, Philadelphia 240 Michigan Avenue, Chicago 407 Rockwell Avenue, Cleveland 493 138-148 Beatty Street, Pittsburg 120-122 Marietta Street, Atlanta 170 King Street, West, Toronto