Life, 1913-05-08 · page 31 of 48
Life — May 8, 1913 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a vintage tire advertisement, not political satire. It promotes Diamond brand tires to consumers concerned about tire wear and rim damage—common problems in the early automotive era when poor rim contact caused tire failure. The ad addresses a practical frustration: tire buyers wanted tires that wouldn't damage rims through cutting or breaking. Diamond's solution was the "Perfect 3-Point Rim Contact"—a mechanical design ensuring even pressure distribution where the tire meets the rim, plus a "No-Pinch Safety Flap" for inner tube protection and "Vitalized Rubber" for durability. The format mimics Life magazine's humorous tone by staging a fictional dialogue between engineers and chemists solving customer demands. The ad emphasizes engineering sophistication to justify the product's value, concluding with the availability of 25,000 dealers nationwide.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pal Buildings, Lave. 118 You -as a tire bill payer - now demand a vise-like rim rip-with no cutting or breaking above the rim- and here it is => It’s the 77 as much as the road that wears out your tires, So we said to our Engi- neers : “You must build us a tire a with Perfect 3- Point Rim 8 Contact.”” They did—and they also added the No- Pinch Safety Flap for inner tube protec- tion in © RIM CONTACT Then we called in our Chemists and said: “Tire buyers are demand- ing a tough, flint-like, but resilient tread—a tire made of lusty young rubber —a tire giving the utmost mileage at no additional expense.”’ POINT No-Pinch Safety Flap And the answer is Vitalized Rubber Diamond (cies! Tires Perfect 3-Point Rim Contact Here is a No-Clinch tire that appeals to the hard- headed, shrewd tire buyer—the man who insists on easy riding comfort and a good liberal mileage. Each point of rim contact in a tire is a point of support. Where the points of rim contact are not perfect, undue pres- sure is brought to bear at an unsupported point of the tire. Then what happens? The result is a terrific strain on the tire that results in rim troubles, bre: ig above the bead and separation of the tread from the carcass. All this is overcome in the Diamond No-Clinch because the three points of rim contact are abso- lutely mechanically perfect—the annealed steel cable wire bead holds with a vise-like, rim-grip. Add to this the No-Pinch Safety Flap for inner tube protection, the Vitalized Rubber advantage, the famous Diamond Safety (Squeegee Tread) and you have bought rubber shod mileage that has no equal at any price. So this time buy Diamond Vitalized Rubber Tires—you can get them to fit your rims at any of the 25,000 Diamond Dealers always at your Service. Diamond Safety (Squeegee) Tread for Automobiles Motorcycles, Bicycles comicbooks.com