Life, 1914-04-02 · page 2 of 68
Life — April 2, 1914 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine's early automotive era. The page promotes the Stevens-Duryea motorcar, manufactured in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, marketed as "Pioneer Builders of American Sixes." The ad emphasizes the vehicle's artistic and mechanical superiority, claiming no competitor offers comparable features for "convenience, ease and safety." Price range: $4,550 to $6,200 (substantial sums for the period). The accompanying photograph shows an open-air touring car with passengers, positioned dramatically against a scenic mountain backdrop—a common advertising strategy to associate the automobile with leisure, adventure, and social status. The phrase "Nearly a Quarter-Century of Leadership" suggests the company's established reputation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Nearly a Quarter-Century of Leadership” The new Stevens-Duryea is now at the show-rooms of our distributors and branches. Artistically it is a perfect unit—the body, wheel- guards, wind-shield and one-man top forming a complete expression of power, speed, elegance, and distinction. 3 Mechanically it is a perfect unit—the electric system for starting and lighting and the left-side control being a unified part of an efficient mechanism. No other car has all details so thoroughly executed; no other car offers so many features for convenience, ease and safety in operation; no other car makes such provision for comfort; and no other car expresses so completely the purpose for which a fine motor-car is built. Open and Enclosed Cars, $4550 to $6200 Stevens-Duryea Company Chicopee Falls Mass «“ Pioneer Builders of American Sixes”