Life — October 8, 1914 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is **not a cartoon or satire** — it's a straightforward advertisement for the Baker Electric automobile, published in *Life* magazine (page 610). The ad promotes the "new light Baker Electric," emphasizing its advantages: it weighs half a ton less than competing electrics, requires minimal steering effort, achieves 23 miles per hour, and uses only 12 battery cells versus competitors' 40-42. The ad highlights practical benefits like reduced tire wear and lower maintenance costs. The seating arrangement is marketed as innovative — convertible from four-passenger to two or three-passenger configurations by folding front seats, addressing actual driving patterns of the era. This represents early automotive advertising targeting practical, efficiency-conscious buyers before internal combustion engines dominated the market. Electric vehicles were a viable transportation option in this period.