Life, 1912-02-08 · page 33 of 44
Life — February 8, 1912 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **automobile advertising**, not satire or political commentary. It features an advertisement for the Speedwell Motor Car Company of Dayton, Ohio, promoting their Model F-Special touring car (priced at $2,500 with full equipment). The ad's text emphasizes practical engineering—"rational through and through"—claiming Speedwell avoids impractical mechanical fads while delivering comfort, power, appearance, and longevity. The photograph shows the car on a country road with passengers, conveying reliability and leisure. There is **no cartoon or satirical content** visible on this page. The decorative border and classical typography are typical period advertising design. This represents standard early-20th-century automotive marketing in *Life* magazine, which regularly carried advertisements alongside its satirical content. The page is essentially a straightforward product promotion emphasizing engineering virtue over novelty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE sound, healthy growth of appreciation of Speedwell Motor Cars denotes the enduring good- ness of these cars. Sensational mechanical innovations which catch popular attention and then die the death of the impracticable have never found place on Speedwell Cars. Every Speedwell is rational through and through. Riding comfort, power, good looks, long life,—these are factors that count. Literature upon request. THE SPEEDWELL MOTOR CAR COMPANY 390 ESSEX AVE. DAYTON, 0. *STANDARD EQUIPMENT Self starter Full cape top and boot Glass front Demountable rims Gas tank and full lamp Equipment Tool kit Tire kit Etc., etc. One standard chassis— 4 cylinder, 50 H. P. 123 inch wheelbase 36 inch wheels *Equipment as. giv plies to all models roadsters and limousine, which vary slightly in their standard equipment.