Life, 1913-12-18 · page 6 of 40
Life — December 18, 1913 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **car advertisement**, not political satire. It advertises the White Berline automobile made by The White Company of Cleveland. The classical imagery—featuring Venus (goddess of love) abandoning her chariot pulled by doves to ride in the White Berline instead—uses mythological allegory as a sales pitch. The caption states Venus "persuades Apollo to abandon his sun chariot for the White Berline," suggesting the car is superior even to divine transportation. The satire is gentle and commercial rather than political: the joke is that this automobile is so superior that it would tempt even the gods to upgrade. The classical figures represent luxury and prestige, reinforcing the product's appeal to affluent buyers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
For its absolute correctness of con- struction, for the perfect control and noiselessness of its power, for its inspiring dignity of appearance, and for the studied attention to every smallest detail that provides complete comfort and relaxation, the White Berline stands un- equalled. THE WHITE Wa COMPANY CLEVELAND Venus persuades Apollo to abandon his = sun chariot for the White Berline. comicbooks.com