Life — January 5, 1911 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "On Time!" - Life Magazine Gasoline Number This is a satirical cover illustrating concerns about automotive reliability and punctuality in the early 1910s. The image depicts Death (the Grim Reaper, identifiable by his scythe and skull-faced appearance) looming over a moonlit landscape where an early automobile speeds along. The juxtaposition suggests that cars—despite their modern promise of efficiency and being "on time"—are dangerously fast and potentially lethal. The "Gasoline Number" subtitle indicates this issue focused on automobiles. The satire critiques how motorists prioritize speed and schedule-keeping over safety, with Death waiting as an inevitable consequence of reckless driving. This reflects early-1910s anxieties about automobiles as new, uncontrolled, and genuinely dangerous machines on public roads.