Life, 1909-11-11 · page 35 of 36
Life — November 11, 1909 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **tire advertisement** from Life magazine. The page promotes Hartford's "Wire Grip Non-Skid" tire, emphasizing its superior safety features. The ad argues that most non-skid devices damage cars by being too rigid, lacking the necessary "resiliency." Hartford's solution: embedding steel wire coils directly into the tire tread itself. When worn, these coils create thousands of small spikes for traction—compared to "cat's claws"—without sacrificing tire flexibility. The image shows a large tire cross-section and a vintage automobile, illustrating the product's practical application. This reflects early automotive-era concerns about wet-road traction before modern rubber compounds were developed. The advertisement lists Hartford Rubber Works' Connecticut headquarters and numerous U.S. branch locations and agencies.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ee (MpcLey PATENT) Most Non-Skid Devices Spell Rack and Ruin to the Car @ The tire makers problem in making a non-skid tire is to make it non-skid and still retain resiliency; because resiliency is absolutely necessary to the welfare of the car. @ No owner would think of running an expensive limousine, touring or other valuable car on solid tires, yet many do use non-skid devices which are every bit as hard on the car. @ There's only (one non-skid incorporated into the tread of the tire itself that is really resilient and non-skid, and that is The Hartford “°° Tire @_ A pneumatic rubber tire with smooth tread or with any combination of rubber projections, corru- Non-Skid (MIDGLEY PATENT) gotions, indentations, or angles will slip on wet asphalt. @ To make a tire skid-proof, metal must positively come into contact with the road. @ So we have taken a regular Hart- ford Tire, with all its superior Hart: ford Tire quality, and incorporated right into the tire itself, thus: four heavy coils of specially made, specially treated steel wire. Those steel coils coming into contact with the road's surface, the rounded coils wear through, becoming thousands of little spikes that gp the ground like cat's claws, although they do not de- tract materially from the resiliency and fastness ee) The Hartford Rubber Works Company, Hartford, Conn. BRANCHES Boston, 817 Boylston St. Detroit, 256 Jetierson Ave. Denver, 1564 Broadway Atlante, Ga. Buffalo, 72: Cleveland, Mnneai AGENCIE Mercantile Lumber and Supp: Chanslor & Lyon Motor Supply C Cal,; Chansior & Lyon Motor Supp! San Franc Chi & L New York, S7th St. & Broadway Chicago, 12th St. & Michigan Ave. Vhiladetphia, 1425 Vine St. o4 North Pryor St. jain Mt Euclid Ave. is, 022 Third Ave. Oregon. Compa: xicapa de Veniculos, City of M Mex.: Jos. Woodweli Company, Pittsburg. Pa. ‘Company, Kansas City, Mo. n St ¥ comicbooks.com