Life, 1912-12-26 · page 33 of 41
Life — December 26, 1912 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: a brief cartoon and substantial advertising. **The Cartoon ("Taking a Short Cut"):** A woman and man in formal dress appear to be discussing or gesturing toward something. The caption references Christmas stockings becoming obsolete in modern steam-heated homes. The satire suggests that traditional Christmas gift-giving practices (small items stuffed in stockings) have become inadequate for contemporary expectations—modern families now demand more substantial gifts. The "short cut" likely refers to abandoning the stocking tradition entirely. **The Advertisements:** The page is dominated by ads for Motz Cushion Tires (for electric cars) and Carstairs Rye whiskey. The tire advertisement emphasizes reliability for early electric vehicles, a technology gaining traction in the early 1900s. Electric cars were considered luxury items at this time. The whiskey ad uses straightforward marketing appeal. The page reflects early-20th-century concerns: evolving holiday customs, emerging automobile technology, and consumer product marketing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SES story npils, that Jeath little emed tten- at is Amy, was the ered y by how- yon arge toa im- rble, the and One TAKING A SHORT CUT The Passing of the Christmas Stocking For the passing of stocking the the Christmas steam-heated house has been unduly blamed. True, the lack of chimney facilities increased the diffi- culties of Santa’s work, but so long as a stocking hung there to be filled he generally managed somehow, even though he had to sneak in disguised as Father, with the presents under his coat. ,The fact is, the stocking, for Christmas pur- poses, has become inadequate. Only a Taftian trouser-leg would hold what the modern family expects to receive. Pink-striped stick candy, nuts, oranges, a tin horn, or a very young doll-baby could be slipped into a stocking without straining it. But, if forced to swallow the pony-skin coat which Daughter Have you a Cof- fee preference? A Cigar preference? Then why not a Whiskey choice? The “Choic- est”? both in point of age, and purity, and number of friends, is Carstairs Skilfully blended. Protected by the Numbered Label to show our bottling. So far as electric pleasure cars are con- cerned, the problem of tires has been solved. Punctures, blowouts, dangerous skidding and tire repair bills can be forgotten. You can go any place with your electric and stay as long as you please without the slightest fear of tire trouble. All due to Motz Cushion Tires, now adopted by every leading maker of electric cars. |Easy-Riding Tires Unlike common, hard, solid rubber tires, Motz Cushion Tires are easy- riding. On electric cars, they give the utmost com- fort to the occupants and also protect the delicate mechanical parts of the car from bumps and jars. -| The double, notched treads (Ain picture) prevent skid- ding and distribute the weight to the sides. The sides are undercut (see B), which allows free action of slantwise bridges (see C). These bridges are elastic. They give and yield like the air in a pneumatic tire. Note D in the picture, showing shock- absorbing qualities when tire runs over a stone. Cost More Than Some Tires Motz Cushion Tires contain more costly rubber than the ordinary pnuematic tire MOTZ Cushion Tires No Need of Tire Trouble On Electric Cars and cost a little more. less expensive in the end. Guaranteed 10,000 Miles Each set is specifically guaranteed for 10,000 miles—two years. That’s almost double the usual tire guarantee. 1,000% Increase in Two Years The use of these tires has multiplied just ten-fold in two years. The great majority of electric car owners use them and all leading makers of electrics include them as standard equip- ment. Send for Book 91 Motz Cushion Tires can be easily applied to any standard clincher, univer- sal quick-detachable or de- mountable rim. You’ll regret it later if you buy an electric, or buy tires for an electric, without first knowing these tires. Send a postal today for our latest book. Then see if you know any other tire that’s nearly so de- pendable, so durable, so economical and so easy-riding. Remember, the right choice of tires more than doubles the pleas- ure of motoring. Send specifications — name of car, model, size of rims, etc. The Motz Tire and Rubber Company Factories and Executive Offices RON, OHIO Service Stations in All Principal Cities But they are far BRANCHES—Boston, 4 Dundee St.; Chicago, 2023 Michigan Ave.; Cleveland, 1932 Euclid Ave.; Detroit, 999 Woodward Ave.; Kansas City, 409 E. 15th St.; New York, 1737 Broadway; Philadelphia, 1409 Race St.; Pittsburgh, 300 N. Cralg St.; Loa Angeles, 336 W. Pico St. m Son's motor-boat, or Mother's grand piano, the best guaranteed stock- ing is apt to spring a leak When stockings were made of woolen or cotton, even Mother found delving in the slim, dark depths fascinating. Each package was fingered and speculated over before being brought to the light. Alas, there can be no surprise concealed in a cobweb stocking: it was never in- tended to conceal anything In the stocking-hanging age a mother had leisure to indulge in such light and frivolous accomplishments as darning and mending. Now she may have, say, wants, 2549, a Greck drama club, a Mothers’ Con- gress, a suffragette parade, and the writing of a paper on “The Effect of Schopenhauer Upon the Mind of the Igorotte,” all in one week. With every week equally full of vitally important <, can she be blamed for tucking Tommy's heelless, toeless stockings under Lis crib where Santa Claus can't see them ? The time-honored custom of hanging up the Christmas stocking will eventually cease to be observed for lack of a stock- ing to hang up—nearly everbody wears hose these days.—Lippincott’s. comicbooks.com