Life, 1911-03-02 · page 50 of 52
Life — March 2, 1911 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page documents LIFE magazine's early 1900s promotional competition tracking automobile manufacturers by lines of printed advertising. The satire works on multiple levels: **The Joke:** LIFE mock-seriously reports on a "race" where winning means generating the *most* advertising copy—the opposite of prestige. A minor mechanical failure is treated as tragedy; the real prize everyone wants is the "Booby Prize" (for least lines). **The Celebrities:** Edison and Carnegie (quoted) express satirical "regret" they can't compete, playing along with the absurdity that advertising volume represents achievement. **The Point:** The page lampoons both corporate vanity and the advertising-driven media economy. By openly tallying how much ad space each company bought, LIFE highlights the commercialism underlying magazine publishing—treating it as comedy rather than business secret. The full contestant list (60,530 lines total) proves the satire's central claim: *this entire magazine issue is essentially an advertising competition disguised as editorial content.*
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
One or Two Slight Accidents in LIFE’S Great Auto Race Nothing, However, That is of any Special Consequence Yesterday afternoon, at four thirty-three, one of the leaders had a slight jolt in the reverential gear, and suddenly stopped. It was found upon investigation that the trouble was due to the tank being all out of humor. By the time the defect was remedied, it was too late, and the car dropped out, nobly refusing to try for the Booby Prize. The others are pressing on. Thomas Edison said this morning: “T realize that my achievements are as nothing to this. Of course, no one else but LIFE could do it, without laying themselves open to the imputation that they were mercenary. My only regret is that my stor- age battery is not quite ready to compete. The Booby is what interests me.”” The Booby is what interests everyone. As Andrew Carnegie said yesterday: “Anyone can win LIFE’S gold cup for the greatest number of lines. If it were not confined exclusively to autos, I probably would get it myself. But to win that Booby Prize—ha! that takes courage in a country like this.” Z ig yp > What is the Consolation i Wty ne ; prize for the one who gets the i" i least number of lines? That's a great secret. We don't even know yet ourselves. It will all be decided by the great committee. Up to date we have secured King George, Joseph Cannon, Enrico Caruso ‘., and Dr. Charles Parkhurst. ‘ Only one more is needed. Announcement later, How the Contestants Stand: Locomobile. . Columbia. . Baker Electric. Franklin......... Hupp- Yeats White......... Oldsmobile... . Haynes.......... Peerless.......... Abbott Detroit Cunningham. . Hudson Motor Hupmobile McFarlan... Maxwell-Briscce Overland.... Stearns... aii Stevens-Duryea... Detroit Electric......... Broc Electric... Speedwell... Premier....... Rauch & Lang Electric, Alco. Palmer & Singer... Stoddard Dayton Thomas Flyer Waverley Electric... Kelly Motor Truck... — Corbin Motor. R-O... oe Adas Motor... Marmon. Carhartt. Elmore... U. S. Motors..... Correja.... Moon Motor... National Motor............ Brewster. Club Car. -- 4,200 lines .. 2,520 lines - 2,100 lines -. 2,100 lines ..-2,100 lines «2,100 lines - 1,680 lines -. 1,288 lines - 1,278 lines ..-1,260 lines -1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,260 lines 1,096 lines 1,064 lines 1,050 lines 945 lines 896 lines 896 lines 868 lines 868 lines 840 lines 840 lines . 840 lines . 672 lines « 638 lincs 644 lines 644 lincs 560 lines 448 lines 420 lines 420 lines 420 lines 336 lines 315 lines 224 lines 210 lines 210 lin 60,530 lines comicbooks.com