Life, 1914-12-24 · page 40 of 40
Life — December 24, 1914 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Baker Electric Coupe, manufactured by the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The page presents a side-view silhouette of an early electric automobile with prominent spoked wheels. The advertisement emphasizes the vehicle's lightweight construction ("One-Half Ton Less Than Most Big Heavy Electrics") and the company's quality commitment—their "Baker Policy" of building the best possible cars for discerning customers, a practice they claim has lasted over fifteen years. This reflects the early automotive era (1914) when electric vehicles competed seriously with gasoline cars. The appeal to quality and permanence, rather than cost, suggests Baker targeted affluent buyers willing to pay premium prices for superior engineering and durability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
December 24, 1914 The New Light Baker Electric Coupe Weighs One-Half Ton Less Than Most Big Heavy Electrics THE BAKER POLICY TO BUILD A CAR JUST AS GOOD AS IT CAN BE BUILT AND TO MARKET IT PERMANENTLY TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO DESIRE ONLY THE BEST» IT IS OVER FIFTEEN YEARS NOW SINCE THIS POLICY WAS ESTABLISHED THE BAKER MOTOR VEHICLE COMPANY CLEVELAND comicbooks.com