Life, 1913-01-09 · page 89 of 100
Life — January 9, 1913 — page 89: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not satire or a cartoon**, but rather a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine's advertising section. The National Motor Vehicle Company promotes their closed cars by targeting **women drivers**—a relatively novel concept in the early automotive era. The ad emphasizes how the National appeals to female consumers by eliminating traditionally "unladylike" tasks: no hand-cranking engines, no contact with dirty machinery, simple button-operated controls, and luxurious interior amenities (vanity box, flower vases, umbrella holder). The illustration shows a well-dressed woman in a wide-brimmed hat observing a National automobile through a window, suggesting aspirational appeal. The ad explicitly positions the National as "many times superior to an electric" (electric cars were marketed to women as cleaner and easier). This reflects early 1910s gender marketing: the automobile industry recognized women as potential buyers and designed messaging around convenience, cleanliness, and comfort rather than mechanical performance. The ad's language—emphasizing that her "gown and coat and hands are not brought into contact with anything that may soil them"—reveals period assumptions about feminine propriety and maintenance of appearance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AERA VS AIDA HR neaenanansonnne ngctanag ete woman can step directly from her home into her Vin) luxurious National closed car. She finds it clean, warm and comfortable. She touches one button to start the motor. A touch on another button turns on the lights. The entire mechanism of the car is under her immediate control; she need make no exertion or effort; her gown and coat and hands are not brought into contact with anything that may soil them. In every way the National should appeal to a woman as being many times superior to an electric. For her comfort and delight we fit the closed cars with a foot mat, umbrella holder, baggage compartment, speaking tubes, vanity box, mirror, flower vases, etc. The Best Car To Own Indianapolis, Ind. Five Models, Improved Series V, $2750 to $3400 Following are a few of the salient features of National ” cars: Long Stroke (4 1-829) flex- ible and noiseless Motor with enclosed valves, Left-Side Drive. Center Control. Gray & DavisElectricStarte:, easily operated: by simply touching a button with foot. Gray & Davis Dynamo Elec- tric Lighting System. Bosch dual double Magneto. 12-inch Turkish Upholstery. " Electric Horn. National Motor Vehicle Company Adequate Baggage-carrying Compartment concealed in body but easily accessible. Tire pump, integral part of the motor. Inflates a tire in three minutes. 128-inch Wheelbase. Adjustable, ventilating and rain vision Windshield. Multiple jet Carburetor, Hoffecker steady-hand Speed- ometer, Tire Carrier in rear, Full-floating Rear Axle. Easy-riding qualities unex- celled. Write Us For Proof comicbooks.com