Life, 1910-05-05 · page 17 of 72
Life — May 5, 1910 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertising page**, not satirical content. It contains two major advertisements: **Left side:** The Touring Club of America promotes membership ($5/year), emphasizing its services: vacation route planning, auto insurance savings ($5-$40), and international travel expertise. The ad targets affluent car owners seeking curated road trips across America and Europe—a luxury service reflecting the early automobile era's novelty. **Right side:** Indestructo Trunks advertises travel luggage, highlighting durability through "waterproof hardwood construction" and a five-year guarantee. The trunk image and circular warning label emphasize the product's protective qualities for travelers. **Historical context:** This appears to be from the 1910s-1920s automobile boom, when motorized tourism was novel and membership clubs coordinated travel routes. The ads target middle-to-upper-class readers who could afford cars and leisure travel—a privilege requiring explanation of how to use these services. There is no political satire here; this is straightforward commercial promotion reflecting period attitudes toward automobile ownership and tourism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: Try One of Our Motor Trips SAVES $5 TO $40 AUTO INSURANCE UPPOSE you don’t know where to go next Saturday and Sunday, Call on, "phone, or write the Touring Club of America, Its road experts will suggest a week-end trip around your own home that you haven't taken—a new trip for each week-end if you live in an interesting country, telling you hotels to stop at, distances—everything. Suppose you want your ‘car insured. T.C. A. will have it insured and save you $5 to $40. This saving pays you back your membership fee. It may pay youback a profit besides. Thus,T.C. A. touring information costs you nothing. Suppose you want a tour for a week or a month. The touring experts of T.C. A. can give you over 1000 fasci- nating tours in America alone. For example: a mountain scenic tour through the Poconos, including the Delaware Water Gap, New York State's lake country (which is every bit as beautiful as the Highland lakes of Scotland}, on through the Adirondacks, across Lake Champlain, through the marble country of the Green Mountains, and back to New York again by fascinating unfre- quented back roads in the Berkshires. Suppose you want a fishing, hunting or camping trip. Ask T.C. A. Suppose you want to tour abroad, T.C. A. will pack and ship your car; get you out of the Customs House in one hour instead of twenty-four; and its touring experts will map out tours for youthrough all of Britain, all of Europe, Northern Africa, India, Australis— through every country that is interesting, except Asia Minor, China and Japan, which are not tourable. You probably have no idea of the skill and magnitude of the T.C. A, Not a touring book, but a great bureau of touring experts who know nearly every road in the world, Has the enthusi- astic approval of the highest men in the automobile business, Doesn't matter where you live, T.C. A. can serve you, You don’t have to be introduced. Send us $5 for one year's membership. If after thirty days you aren't overwhelmingly pleased, we'll return your $5. If you won't do that, send for the most interesting booklet ever published on automobile touring, entitled ** Dis cover America."* By the eternal, don’t put it off. You'll forget it. ‘Do one or the other now, while you have it in mind. Ad- dress Touring Club of America, Dept. C, 239 West 54th St., New York. AUTOMOBILE TOURING CLUB OF AMERICA INDESTRUCTO rte TRUNKS me Even Better Than Before. E'VE bettered the best trunk ever made—have added strength in every way—without materially increasing weight. We found no way to improve upon the splendid patented features of the Indestructo De Luxe Trunk—the unequalled waterproof and weather- proof hardwood construction—thickness upon thickness joined by a special moisture-resisting cement, squeezed together under enormous pressure into ‘one solid piece of the strongest, most clastic trunk material in the world. Round corr~:s of cold-rolled steel, heavily brassed, hardwood runners on all sides aud steel shoes form a perfect outer protection. The Inde- structo is built for real travel service. We stand behind every Indestructo De Luxe Trunk that leaves our factory with a 5-Year Guarantee If your Indestructo De Luxe Trunk is destroyed beyond repair within five years of the date of your purchase, we give you a new one. Further, if it's damaged while traveling and needs repairing within the five years, we make the repairs free of charge to you at our factory. indestructo"* ‘on your trunk before you buy It. “Be sure It’s there— because there are no substitutes for the tructo Trunk. Protected against Loss If your Indestructo gocs astray it is traced by our special registry system and is returned to you, without annoyance, with least delay. Service considered, the Indestructo is the most economical trunk you can buy. It is the trunk Jor alifetime. ‘A cheap, short-lived trunk is the most expensive investment in the world. Indestructo Trunks are sold by the store which ranks first in its class in each city—where good trunks are sold. Send for our booklet “About a Traveler*—a De Luxe edition for 1910—authoritative and interesting—beautifully illustrated—gives valuable information about railways, steamships, hotels, service, tips, expenses, etc, Send us the coupon in a letter enclosing seven two-cent stamps, and we will mail you a copy at once—Address, National Veneer Products Company, National Veneer Products Co. Station E 24, Mishawaka, Ind. The Indestructo Tourist Trunk—just om the market. Lower im price than the Address Indestructo De Luxe. The best trunk 7 for the price. City Name comicbooks.com