Life, 1915-03-04 · page 47 of 48
Life — March 4, 1915 — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Kelly-Springfield brand automobile tubes to early 20th-century motorists. The illustration depicts a common frustration of the era: a well-dressed man standing beside his car at a "Somewhere" road sign, apparently stranded with a flat tire when he needs to catch a train or attend an important appointment. The advertisement's pitch exploits this relatable anxiety. It claims that most "punctures" aren't actually punctures but rather **leaky tubes**—a failure of cheap, machine-made rubber. Kelly-Springfield's solution: hand-crafted tubes made from real rubber that won't leak, even if punctured. The humor is gentle: the ad acknowledges the maddening timing of tire failures while offering a premium product as salvation. This reflects early automotive culture when tire reliability was a genuine, widespread problem and buying quality tubes was a practical luxury concern for car owners.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Another Puncture! It always happens at the most maddening time—just when you want to catch a train or keep some important engagement And usually it isn’t really a puncture at all, but a leaky tube. Now porous rubber (so-called) and leakage around the valves are among the commonest failings of cheap, machine-made tubes. you are tired of these needless “punctures” equip your car with Kelly-Springfield Tubes. They are made slowly and painstakingly by hand out of real rubber. They can be punctured, of course, but they won’t leak. If you use Kelly-Springfield Tubes in Kelly-Springfield hand-made, real rubber tires you will add increased mileage to freedom from needless tube trouble. Send for “Documents: in Evidence” which tells the experience of others Kelly-Springfield Tire Company Cor. Broadway and Fifty-seventh Street, New York Branch Offices: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Kansas City, Atlanta, Akron. The Hearn Tire and Rubber Co., Columbus, Ohio The Southern Tire & Repair Co., The Boss Rubber Company of Denver, Houston and Beaumont, Texas Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colo. The Olmsted Co., Inc., : N.Y. Southern Hardware & Woodstock Co., Ltd., Atkinson Tire & “Supply Co., - New Orleans, La. C. D. Franke & Co. - Central Rubber & Suppl; Con : _Indianapolis, Ind. Todd Rubber Company, & S. Auto Tire Con lea, Toronto, Ont. Seifert & Baine, . L.J. Barth, - - + Rochester, N. Y. Barnard-Michael Tire Co, oe Buffalo, N.Y. ” BogerStiess Rubber Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota