Life, 1910-03-10 · page 36 of 36
Life — March 10, 1910 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not satire or political commentary**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Baker Motor Vehicle Company, a manufacturer of electric automobiles. The page promotes their 1910 models, emphasizing the innovative "Bevel Gear Shaft Drive" as a major mechanical advancement. The illustration shows an elegant electric car with four passengers (two women and two men in period dress) driving past illuminated landmarks including what appears to be the U.S. Capitol, suggesting prestige and American modernity. The text claims Baker maintains its position as "the undisputed Standard of the World" for electric vehicles. This reflects the early 1910s era when electric cars competed seriously with gasoline engines, targeting wealthy, urban consumers who valued quiet, clean operation. The aspirational imagery—fashionable passengers, nighttime city driving, monumental architecture—reinforces the product's association with refinement and progress.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Back of the Shaft Drive HE Bevel Gear Shaft Drive used on the 1910 Baker Electrics o much more efficient than ordinary drives that it has been universally acclaimed the most important advance ever made in electric motor car construction. Yet this new drive is no more distinctive than is the Entire Mechanical and E Baker improvements—including the Shaft Drive—are simply the latest expressions of a progre ness which for ten years has maintained the Baker Electric in its position as the undisputed Standard of the World. HANDSOME 1910 CATALOGUE, TOGETHER WITH “A RETROSPECT AND A FORECAST” CONCERNING THE SHAFT DRIVE, WILL BE MAILED FREE TO ANY ADDRESS ON REQUEST THE BAKER MOTOR VEHICLE CoO. caus Shsusa. THE OLDEST AND LARGEST MANUFACTURERS OF ELECTRIC MOTOR CARS IN THE WORLD comicbooks.com