Life, 1913-12-11 · page 40 of 40
Life — December 11, 1913 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **luxury automobile advertisement** rather than political satire. The Rauch & Lang company is advertising their new electric car model, emphasizing its status as a fashionable choice for wealthy society. The bottom illustration depicts a Venetian state barge, referencing historical luxury and prestige—a metaphor suggesting the car is as finely crafted and exclusive as Renaissance royal vessels. The text claims Rauch & Lang has "set the fashion" for 60 years in high-society vehicles. The ad's central claim is that this electric automobile represents cutting-edge engineering (featuring a "Straight Type. Top-Mounted Worm Drive") while maintaining exclusivity through limited production. The phrase "Society's chosen car" targets wealthy buyers. This reflects early-1900s attitudes where automobiles were luxury goods for the elite, not mass transportation. The comparison to royal barges and emphasis on handcrafted perfection reflects pre-industrial notions of prestige still applied to early automobiles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Deermber 11, 1915 Special Display Waldorf Astoria Hotel Turkish Room Jan. 3-10 Exhibited also at Grand Central Palace Auto Show The Car That Sets the Fashion In the making of Scciety’s vehicles—from the stately coach of 60 years ago to the finest Electric of today, Rauch & Lafig productions have always set the fashion in each successive era Particularly is this true of this year’s Rauch & Lang Electric. the first electric in America to embody the Straight Type. Top-Mounted Worm Drive. The superiority of the werm-drive method of progulsion is so pronounced as to win uch & Lang Cars and. as nd other deals of con United States parenss the immediate emulation of other makers No monsrch’s equipage was ever built with such painstaking skill, or with greater concer for the perfection of every detail. Thatis why the output of the Rauch & Lang Electric is always limited, and why it has always been Society's chosen car. Any Rauch & Lang agent will gladly demonstrate. The Rauch & Lang Carriage Co., 2213 West 25th Street, Cleveland New York. 7 Broadway, Cheveled Fiestas Resves, 38 Cleveland Sixth Cit Main Suet ] comicbooks.com