Life, 1912-12-05 · page 95 of 116
Life — December 5, 1912 — page 95: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile tire advertisement from an early 20th-century Life magazine. The page promotes Firestone's "Non-Skid" tires, emphasizing their safety features for motor vehicles of the era. The advertisement positions the tire as essential for driver confidence and vehicle control, particularly on slippery roads. It highlights technical advantages: the tire's tread pattern prevents skidding in multiple directions, the compound maintains tread integrity, and the double-cured construction resists separation. The copy appeals to motorists' anxieties about automobile safety—then a genuine concern as motoring was relatively new and roads were often poor. The large tire illustration demonstrates the product's distinctive tread pattern. Rather than satire, this represents period marketing strategy: selling reliability and peace-of-mind as much as the physical product itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ca) bg i ch Be 00 Ru HON Firestone Non-Skid Tires The Non-Skid Tire is the “‘rudder’”’ of the auto- mobile during slippery or heavy going, keep- ing the car steadily and evenly on its way. Confidence is the real basis of complete riding pleasure. Skidding and slipping, the AN Security Against | Skidding, that ever- present bugbear to Skidding : many motorists, is unknown to the user of Firestone ‘Non- Skid” tires. Askid in one direction is prevented by an angle; the next one requires a sharp edge, a third a vacuum-creating property. Outside appliances may accomplish this one end, but largely at the expense of length of tire life. It is the tread which will prevent a skid, in any direction, under any road con- dition, which most surely meets the necessity. It is because Firestone compound has the amount of pure rubber which permits these sharp edges, abrupt angles and deep hollows, that Firestone Non-Skid Tires are such general choice. Security Against Tread = The _ weight and Fabric Separation 24 _ force of a car, thrown against the tread exerts an enormous strain not only on the tread itself, but on the whole tire. This is the reason for the double curing cf all Firestone Tires. Fabric, side walls, breaker strip cushion layer and tread, are twice cured into an entity,—a tire without a bubble, a tire to stand the going. thought of insecurity, cause a feeling of nerv- ousness which destroys the joy of driving. It was the demand for security, for absolute confidence,— which acted as the tire build- er’s incentive in designing the non-skid tread. MOM Security Against The Firestone com- bination of angles, Loss of Power edges, and vacuum- creating hollows work in complete unison, cling to the road, prevent slip or spinning of the wheel and loss of power,—increase trac- tion. Insurance of Greater Security Comfort and Longer Life | and_ confi- dence, how- ever, are not the only advantages of Firestone Non-Skids. There is, in addition, an insur- ance of greater resiliency, longer life, greater economy. Thus they become the wise in- vestment for all seasons, on all roads. The Firestone Non-Skid tread is a built-up tread of extra thickness. These extra layers of resilient rubber take up and absorb the jolts and jars of the road, far more even than the highly resilient smooth tread. Then, too, the Non-Skid tread being of extra thickness, there is the additional wear, just that much longer life and greater value for every time of the year. When the ‘‘Non- Skid” tread on a Firestone wears down, there is practically a regular thickness of tread remaining. Firestone Non-Skid Tires, beyond ques- tion, eliminate every obstacle to secure confi- dent motor pleasure. They are in every way Insurance of Reduced Car and Tire Upkeep Write today for the guide book to Tire Security, Comfort and Economy, “‘ What’s What In Tires,” by H. S. Firestone. THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER CO., AKRON, OHIO All Principal “America’s Largest Exclusive Tire and Rim Makers” LOA comicbooks.com