Life, 1911-06-08 · page 3 of 44
Life — June 8, 1911 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire page**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement for the White Motor Company of Cleveland, published in *Life* magazine. The ad promotes White brand gasoline motor cars, emphasizing their durability, reliability, and value. The imagery (a touring car illustration) and copy appeal to early automotive buyers by linking motoring to leisure, spring, and personal freedom ("motoring time—it's WHITE time"). The language targets middle-class businessmen, claiming the car will make them "better fitted to cope with the world" and describing motoring as a legitimate investment rather than luxury. This reflects early 20th-century attitudes toward automobiles as both practical tools and status symbols for urban professionals. There is no political satire or social commentary here—merely period advertising strategy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
It’s Motoring Time—It’s White Time @ When the odor of the blossoming or- chards—when the velvety carpet of count- less meadows—when the lure of the road which winds in sunlight and shadows through all the splendor of awakening Nature—when all these invite you—call you—haunt your very dreams—it’s Springtime—it’s motoring time—it’s WHITE time. If you never knew be- fore, you realize then why an automobile was invented—why it has such a hold on those whouse them—why it has so much in store for you—it will make life mean more to you—it will make you a better business man—better fitted to cope with the world. There is something about the exhilaration of the game thatclearsaway the cobwebs from the brain—it makes men capable, because it feeds the hungry soul starved by city conditions—it is a legitimate investment—a real asset for each urbanite. The White Motor Car—The Kind You Want @ White gasoline motor cars are the kind of cars for the most of us—they are built on honor, of the best materials mod- ern science has evolved. There is noth- ing better in any car at any price to make a car more durable or dependable. The White has one of the most modernly de- signed engines—of the long-stroke type, which makes it powerful, while econom- ical in the use of fuel. It will take you anywhere you want to go—anywhere that any car may go—with every com- fort of any car, at a lower cost. Judged by every test of operation—by every test that human mindcan evolve, Whitecars are most satisfying Comicbooks.com