Life, 1913-01-09 · page 75 of 100
Life — January 9, 1913 — page 75: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **a full-page automobile advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Overland car by Willys-Overland Company (Toledo, Ohio) at $985, "completely equipped." The ad's main claim is extraordinary demand: over 3,000 cars behind on orders since August, dealers pre-contracting for 39,000 units before public announcement, one dealer alone ordering 4,000. It boasts of European interest ($1 million worth ordered in thirty days) and plans for 40,000-car 1913 production with 8,000 mechanics working in an 80-acre factory. The illustration shows a well-dressed man in a long coat inspecting or approaching the automobile, with passengers visible inside—a typical advertisement image emphasizing the vehicle's appeal to affluent buyers. **No satire is evident.** This appears in *Life* because *Life* was a general-interest magazine accepting paid advertising, not because the content mocks anything. It's a straightforward sales pitch leveraging supply scarcity and mass production capability as selling points.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
$985 Completely Equipped — are, and have been, over 3000 cars behind immediate shipping orders ever since last August—when this model was first introduced. Dealers contracted for 39,000 cars before we made a public an- inouncement; one dealer alone took 4000; in thirty days Europe had arranged for $1,000,000 worth. We have planned and prepared for a 1913 production of 40,000 cars. Eight thousand skilled mechanics in a factory covering over eighty acres are working night and day to fill present and persistent orders. There are over 3,000 Overland dealers in all parts of the world. Look up the one in your town. See this car, and you will more readily understand what a really brilliant and remark- able achievement this exceptional value is. Our catalogue is big, beautiful and interest- ing—and it’s free. (Please address Dept. 16) The Willys-Overland Company Toledo, Ohio, U. S. A. aA = cS ads, comicbooks.com