Life — July 10, 1913 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It's a 1913 ad for "Exide" batteries by The Electric Storage Battery Company of Philadelphia. The ad targets owners of electric vehicles—a technology that competed with gasoline cars in the early 1900s. The headline warns that unless your electric car uses Exide batteries, "you are not getting the service you should have." The ad emphasizes Exide's reliability in harsh conditions (snow, hills, cold weather) and notes that leading electric car manufacturers used them as standard equipment. The accompanying illustration shows a period electric automobile, reinforcing the product's association with quality and established manufacturers. This reflects a historical moment when electric vehicles were still viable commercial products before gasoline engines became dominant.