Life, 1914-06-18 · page 31 of 44
Life — June 18, 1914 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a Pierce-Arrow automobile advertisement from Life magazine. The ad uses metaphorical language comparing a good car to a good stomach or servant—things that work invisibly without requiring attention or adjustment. The accompanying illustrations show the car in various scenarios with well-dressed passengers, emphasizing reliability and seamless operation. The central image depicts an elegant open-air motorcar with formally dressed occupants. Pierce-Arrow was a luxury American automobile manufacturer, and this ad targets wealthy readers by suggesting their vehicle provides dependable, unobtrusive service—you can trust it to work without demanding constant maintenance or ruining your plans. The messaging reflects early 20th-century advertising values emphasizing mechanical reliability as a mark of quality and prestige.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“| EE PIERCE- ARROW The stomach that calls attention to itself is not a good stomach. The servant who requires your instruction is not serving. The greatest attribute a motor carcan have is unobtrusiveness. Service comes first, the service that you can lean upon, that requires neither adjustment nor allowance in your plans. comicbooks.com