Life, 1913-06-05 · page 33 of 52
Life — June 5, 1913 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward product advertisement for electric automobiles, circa early 1900s. The page compares the Ohio Electric Car to "ordinary" (gasoline) cars through a side-by-side feature comparison. Key selling points include: - **Dual controls** (drive from front or rear seat) - **Magnetic control system** (no mechanical levers) - **Button-operated braking** with automatic power cutoff The photograph shows a woman driver alone in the vehicle, highlighting the car's appeal to women—a significant market for electric vehicles before gasoline cars dominated. The advertisement emphasizes safety, ease of operation, and comfort. It also touts the "beautiful Viennese body-design," suggesting European styling as a luxury feature. The Ohio Electric Car Company operated from Toledo, Ohio, and positioned their product as technologically and aesthetically superior to gas-powered alternatives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HO ELECTRIC When alone drive from the rear. With Note explanatory ar- rows. Compare These Two Columns Before Deciding on Your Electric The Ohio The Ordinary Car 1. Double drive. The Ohio can be driven from both 1. Single drive. If the drive is from the front, you front and rear seat, at the convenience of the owner. look and feel like a chauffeur when alone. With the Drive from the rear when alone; from the front when ordinary rear-seat drive, it is dangerous; you can’t see guests. We hold basic patents on this feature. the road ahead when the front seats are occupied Control. This is magnetic—no levers. Every op- 2. Lever Control. This is not only cumbersome, but tion of the car is governed from a small disc con- dangerous. A nervous person, manipulating several venient to the hand. “This, too, is patented. levers in an emergency, is more than likely to pull one 3. Braking. This is also mag operated simply the wrong way, with disastrous results. by pressure of a button. In addition, there is of course 3., Braking. In some cases merely foot-brake—and the emergency foot-brake, to which is attached an without any automatic means of shutting off the power automatic cut-out that shuts off the power the instant prompt e' Sometimes there is also a the brake is applied. ever brake, cumbereome and ineticieat: Here are three great points of Ohio superiority. There are others—more than can be covered in the compass of a magazine announcement. And the car itself, with its beautiful Viennese body-design, is admittedly the most admired electric in America. There is an Ohio representative near you—or we shall be glad to send descriptive literature on request. The Ohio Electric Car Co., 1505 West Bancroft St., Toledo, O. comicbooks.com