Life, 1911-04-20 · page 52 of 52
Life — April 20, 1911 — page 52: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It appears in *Life* magazine from November 20, 1911, promoting the Baker Motor-Vehicle Company's electric automobiles. The image shows two well-dressed passengers in an early electric car driving past a countryside estate, emphasizing the vehicle's refined appeal to affluent buyers. The "shaft driven" notation references the car's mechanical transmission system. The advertisement's claims reflect the historical moment: electric cars were then serious competitors to gasoline vehicles, touted for low fuel consumption and long range. The specific mention of battery options (lead-plate, Ironclad, or Edison batteries) indicates this was a key selling point—Edison batteries were prestigious, invented by the famous industrialist. For modern readers: this captures when electric vehicles were luxury goods, not niche products, and competed equally with gas-powered cars before the Model T's dominance shifted the market around 1915.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nowil 20, 1911 The Product of Fourteen Years’ Experience BAKER ELECTRICS have a continuous record of fourteen years of invention and achieve- ment behind them. They fis Pes the highest standard of engineering skill and of structural design in this country. low consumption of current and high mileage radius they are unmatched by any other car. Lead plate, Ironclad or Edison batteries, the two latter at extra cost; special electric pneumatic or Motz cushion tires. Write for illustrated catalogue. THE BAKER MOTOR-VEHICLE COMPANY 33 West 80th Street, Cleveland, Ohio comicbooks.com