Life, 1909-04-15 · page 35 of 36
Life — April 15, 1909 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **tire company advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes Hartford Rubber Works Company tires using early 1900s marketing appeals. The imagery features winged tires (suggesting speed/reliability) flanking a large central tire, with a woman in period dress pointing toward it. The woman represents an endorser or satisfied customer—a common advertising device of the era. The advertisement's strategy is testimonial-based: it urges inexperienced buyers to ask experienced motorists (who've driven 4-6 years) about tire brands, claiming they'll overwhelmingly recommend Hartford. The text emphasizes durability through technical specifications: Sea Island Cotton fabric, pure Para rubber, and precision construction. This reflects early automotive culture when tire reliability was a genuine concern and word-of-mouth recommendations carried significant weight. The "tire that lasts" slogan directly addresses consumers' primary worry—tire longevity on poor roads.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Every Tire, no matter how poor, has its patrons and its partisans ; but the one true Tire test is—time and travel, Find, among your friends, the old and experienced motorists—men who have driven cars for four, five or six years; and tried, perhaps, every prominent Tire produced. In the majority of cases you'll find them committed beyond the possibility of change to HARTFORD TIRES “THE TIRES THAT LAST” There's a definite, concrete reason for this — partially expressed in the phrase, “The Tire That Lasts.” Hanford Tires do last--because they are designed right to begin with ; because the heavy tread is compounded exactly right; because the fabric is specially woven Sea Island Cotton: because the cushion is absolutely pure Para; because Hartford Inner Tubes are made to fit without folding, straining, or wrinkling, which means durability impossible in a tube vul- canized on a straight mandrel. If you are inexperienced on Tires or dissatisfied with your experience, consult those who have driven long and hard — almost inevitably they will direct you to the Hartford Tire—the Tire that lasts. Ask for Hartford Clincher Tires and Tubes on your new car or try a set the next time you renew We endorse and recommend all automobilists to equip their car with Standard Universal Quick Detachable Rims. THE HARTFORD RUBBER WORKS COMPANY HARTFORD, CONN. BRANCHES: NEW YORK, 57th St. and Broadway —_— DETROIT, 256 Jefferson Ave. CHICAGO, 12th St. and Michigan Ave. DENVER, 1564 Broadway PHILADELPHIA, 1425 Vine St. ATLANTA, GA., 94 North Pryor St. BOSTON, 817 Boylston St. BUFFALO, 725 Matin St. CLEVELAND, 1831 Euclid Ave,