Life, 1911-01-05 · page 5 of 104
Life — January 5, 1911 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Firestone Tire & Rubber Company advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The ad promotes two Firestone products: Non-Skid Tires (for safety on slippery surfaces) and Quick-detachable Demountable Rims (for faster tire changes). The visual shows a large tire in cross-section with detailed tread patterns, flanked by early automobiles. The text emphasizes Firestone's superiority over competitors, claiming their tires contain more rubber and their rims are "universally preferred" by car makers and dealers. The ad targets car owners concerned with safety and convenience—practical appeals for the era when tire changes were labor-intensive and road conditions unpredictable. There is no political satire here; this is straightforward product marketing from early 20th-century *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE: NON-SKID TIRES Ensure Safety on Slippery Streets Look at the rubber lettering that stands right out on the tread of this tire. Such a mass and variety of non-skid angles, edges, hol- lows and sides cannot be found on any other tire. No other tire can stop your slip- ping and skidding so effec- ually as the Firestone Non- id. On smooth pavements the hollows of this lettering create a suction that clings like a fly on a pane of glass. The smoother the surface, the tighter the cling. The tread is tough Firestone tread-rubber, extra thick and long-wearing. It contains as much rubber as a regular tire of other make, plus this heavy Firestone lettering. For all this extra rubber, on-skid protection and tire service, the price averages can impair the efficiency of this rim. nly 6% more than our regular smooth tread tires. Send us your name and let us show you why Firestone i you afford the risk of not using Firestone Non-Skid Demountable Rims are universally preferred, and the ires? lave your car equipped RIGHT NOW with FIRESTONE DEMOUNTABLE RIMS, putting Non- Skids on the rear and carrying your used tires as spares. THE FIRESTONE TIRE @ RUBBER CO. ** America’s largest exclusive tire makers.”” AKRON, OHIO and all principal cities PREFERRED EQUIPMENT OF AMERICA’S BEST CARS | Firestone Quick-detachable \ oO Demountable Rims Abolish Tire Delays and Road Repairs For quick tire-changing without hard work or pumping up, the equipment pre-eminent today is the Firestone Demountable Rim. They are now the preferred equipment of America’s best motor car makers and dealers. Their strongest advocates are the former users of other de- mountable rims. This is the natural result of the’ great superiority of the Firestone | rim in actual service. ' The quick detachable feature of this rim abolishes the lug or staybolt nuisance, and permits any number of tire-changes with- out even demounting rim from wheel. The base of the Firestone rim is solid— not split — water cannot enter and ruin case and tube. Neither rust nor hard usage most practical of all in actual service. comicbooks.com