Life, 1914-01-01 · page 29 of 44
Life — January 1, 1914 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes the Gray & Davis Starting-Lighting System, an electrical automobile starter motor manufactured in Boston. The image shows the mechanical device itself mounted in an engine compartment. The ad emphasizes "Power"—the motor's ability to reliably crank large engines in any weather, fire instantly, and operate smoothly without mechanical strain. The text targets motorists and automobile manufacturers, claiming major car makers already install their system. It references contemporary automobile shows (New York and Chicago) and encourages readers to consult their catalog when evaluating new cars. This represents early automotive marketing when electric starters were still relatively novel technology, highlighting reliability and engineering sophistication as selling points to both consumers and the industry.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A compact device with tireless power— that is the Gray & Davis Starting Motor By power we mean ——Power to crank even the largest 6-cylinder engine, . power that is as certain in zero weather as in summer, — power to spin any engine fast enough to fire instantly on magneto, _ Power to overcome back-firing and pre-igni- tion, ——power smoothly applied, doing its work silently and evenly. There is in the whole Gray & Davis Starting- Lighting System no evident effort, no mechanical indecision—only that stubbornly certain work which comes alone from Power. This is the natural result of correct design and years of experience in constructing electrical auto- mobile equipment. When you select the Gray & Davis Starting- Lighting System, your judgment is approved by the manufacturers of leading automobiles in every price-class who install our system in their cars. Our new catalog should be in the hands of every motorist. Tells fully about starting-lighting sys- tems and will help you materially in judging the latest automobiles. Visitors to the New York and Chicago Automobile Shows should be sure to see the special Gray & Davis Exhibits. GRAY & DAVIS, Inc., Boston, Mass. GRAY.&. STARTI comicbooks.com