Life, 1913-05-01 · page 48 of 48
Life — May 1, 1913 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement for the Baker Electric Motor Vehicle Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The image shows a well-dressed couple in an early electric automobile, arriving at what appears to be an upscale venue (note the ornate doors and architectural details). The advertisement emphasizes the Baker's practical advantages: ease of operation ("a fifteen-year-old child" could drive it), reliability, luxury appointments, and suitability for both business and social use. The specific appeal to electric vehicles is historically significant: in 1913, electric cars competed seriously with gasoline automobiles, particularly among affluent urban drivers who valued quiet, clean operation without hand-cranking or engine maintenance. The ad's boasts about range and low upkeep reflect genuine competitive concerns of the era. This represents pre-mass-production automotive marketing, when different power sources were still viable commercial options.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
May 1, 1913 \erm! To SRF TNS TE TENGEN TD TATE LAD a ONE Why You Get Greatest — Satisfaction j= Because the Baker is a practical, efficient, powerful automobile, ing the luxury, dignity and appointment that can be found only in a From a Baker Bh of the electric type. —Because the Baker meets all the average operating requirements that could be expected from any motor car—ample speed, more r ge than ordinarily needed, and ability to take any hill where wheels will turn, —Because the Baker is the most broadly useful car money can buy. It is at the disposal of a fifteen-year- old child y to operate, simple to handle. F ses it is a car of unquestioned uict, © nt, The busin or professional man find: superior to the gasoline for city —no chauffeur needed, no engine difficulties, no carburetor, no ignition, no cranking. —And we challenge any other maker to produce a car that will travel farther on a single charge, or involve lower upkeep t, or give better se! in and year out, than the Baker. THE BAKER MOTOR VEHICLE COMPANY, CLEVELAND, OHIO Builders alse of Bater Electric Tructs_ CANADA: The Baker Motor Vehicle Company of Canada, Ltd., Wa’kerville, Oat, Branches on Dealers in By comicbooks.com