Life — January 11, 1912 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **automobile advertisement** from Life magazine, circa 1912. The image shows a Thomas "Six-Forty" Vestibuled Limousine (model S5150), a luxury passenger vehicle. The ad includes a company seal and "Thomas Declarations (No. 4)," where E.R. Thomas Motor Car Company asserts their vehicle offers superior refinements for "pleasure, comfort and convenience." The text lists specifications: two chassis sizes (134 and 126 inch wheelbase), four body styles (seven-passenger touring car, five-passenger phaeton, four-passenger surrey, two-passenger runabout), priced at $4,000 each. **No political or social satire is present.** This is period advertising marketing an early automobile as a premium luxury product.