Life — October 3, 1912 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Baker Electrics Advertisement This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes the Baker Motor-Vehicle Company's electric automobiles, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The illustration shows a well-dressed couple in an early electric car, with a uniformed chauffeur or attendant standing beside it. The ad emphasizes that Baker electrics are "the car of silence—the noiseless of all electrics," contrasting them favorably with noisy gasoline-powered vehicles of the era. The text argues that silence indicates mechanical efficiency and lower operating costs. It targets affluent consumers, particularly women, suggesting electrics are the superior choice if "all electrics sold were bought on structural superiority, 95% of them would be Bakers." This reflects the early 1900s competition between electric and gasoline vehicles before gas engines became dominant.