Life — December 7, 1911 — page 109: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine's advertising pages. The page promotes the **Maxwell Mercury**, a roadster priced at $1,150 (equipped). The image shows a stylish early-automobile with an elegantly dressed driver, photographed against a scenic backdrop with trees and a cityscape. The marketing copy emphasizes the car's appeal: smooth handling, speed (described as "mile-a-minute"), thirty horsepower, and refined appointments. The ad lists other Maxwell models and notes 47,000 cars in use, suggesting market success. It's positioned as a Division of United States Motor Company operating from a New York address. For modern readers: This represents early 1900s automobile marketing, when cars were luxury goods marketed to affluent consumers with appeals to style, performance, and leisure pleasure rather than practical transportation.