Life, 1912-10-31 · page 27 of 44
Life — October 31, 1912 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **tire advertisement**, not political satire. The Fisk Rubber Company advertisement promotes their "Town Car Tread" tire by emphasizing safety on wet, slippery streets. The cartoon imagery shows two cherubs or putti (baby figures) riding on or near a large tire, with the headline "To Skid Or Not To Skid" — a playful reference to Hamlet's famous soliloquy. The visual joke is straightforward: the tire prevents skidding, making driving safer and therefore the choice is obvious ("not to skid"). The advertisement claims the Fisk tire is "a positive non-skid tire" offering motorists the "protection" they seek on dangerous road conditions. The cherubs' precarious positioning humorously emphasizes the risks of poor tire traction — even innocent babies wouldn't be safe without proper tires. This reflects early 1900s automobile safety concerns, when tire technology was still developing and road hazards were genuine public concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HEAVY CAR TYPE TOWN CAR TREAD New FES IK Tire The Fisk Town Car Tread Tire strength, the quality and the ex- is a positive non-skid tire, furnish- clusive features that are found ing on wet pavements and slip; y always in the famous Heavy Car streets, the protection for whic’ Type Construction—the construc- every motorist is looking. tion that has earned for Fisk Tires Substantial and effective in ap- their reputation for exceptional pearance, this tire combines the mileage and long service. Write for Particulars of This New Tire THE FISK RUBBER COMPANY FON. Y. Department S CHICOPEE FALLS, MASS. comicbooks.com