Life, 1911-03-09 · page 4 of 44
Life — March 9, 1911 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This LIFE magazine page satirizes a prestigious automobile prize committee. The five caricatured figures—identified as King Alfonso (Spain), Joseph Cannon (U.S. politician), Enrico Caruso (opera singer, committee chairman), Charles Parkhurst (clergyman), and King George (England)—supposedly judge LIFE's "Great Auto Race." The satire mocks the absurdity of assembling such an eclectic, international panel of famous men to select a car prize. The joke suggests their disparate expertise makes them ridiculous judges for automotive matters. The accompanying text humorously notes disagreements among committee members and quips that advertising the contest in LIFE magazine during this period would be daring. The right column lists participating automobile manufacturers ranked by advertising lines purchased—revealing the real commerce behind the "prize."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
KING ALFONSO JOSEPH CANNON ENixiCO CARUSO CHARLES PARKHURST KinG GEORGE ~ LIFE’S COMMITTEE AT WORK SELECTING A BOOBY PRIZE FOR LIFE’S GREAT AUTO RACE AT LAST Enrico Caruso, Chairman King Alfonso of Spain King George of England Dr. Charles Parkhurst of iV Hon. Joseph Cannon of Ax Our great Bocby Prize Committce is at last complete. ‘Ihe gentlemen whose names head this column have kindly consented to act, and the great work of select- ing an appropriate Booby Prize will now go on uninterruptedly. “We hope to complete our labors soon,” said Chairman Caruso, “but, of course, we fully realize the magnitude of our task.” Joseph Cannon has agreed to stop smoking if Chairman Caruso will not sing any, while the committee is deliberating. This will undoubtedly facilitate matters, Their decision is awaited by two continents with feverish interest. Up'to the preseat time there has been a great difference of opinion among the individual member: to the quality of the prize. The trouble lics over the fact that there is a feeling that this prize should typify the qualities of the winner. By winner we mean, of course, the last car in. Great interest is, of course, attached to the car that will win the solid gold cup offered by LIFE for the car having the greatest number of lines of advertising be- tween last October and next April. But, after all, that’s of no particular consequence. Anyone can wia that. Dut to advertise just as little in LIFE as possible during this period, nothing could exceed the daring, the originality, the recklessness of surh a feat. We hope to announce something next week. In the meantiz:c, we advise coolness on the part of all good Americans, HOW THE CONTESTANTS STAND Baker Electric. ries . -2,520 lines Columbia............ 2,520 lines Franklin.........................2,100 lines Hupp- Yeats cece eeecee ss + 2,100 lines White.......... : .....2,100 lines Hupmobile cece eeeee ss + f,680 lines Maxwell-Briscoc Oldsmobile. Haynes. Peerless........ Abbott Detroit. Cunningham. . Hudson Motor.. McFarlan ave Overland. Stearns... See Stoddard Dayton... : oe Rauch & Lang Electric...... Stevens-Duryca.. ‘ Detroit Electric. Broc Electric. . ig Thomas Flyer... Waverley Electric. . Kelly Motor Truck..... Corbin Motor... % Atlas Motor.. Marmon...... Carhartt. Elmore. U. S. Mi Moon Motor. Brewster.. ‘i fos . Club Car. .» 210 Hines 61,930 lines comicbooks.com A.