Life, 1915-04-22 · page 6 of 44
Life — April 22, 1915 — page 6: 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 20th century. The page announces the "New Locomobile," a luxury car. The illustration shows a fashionably dressed woman admiring the vehicle, which features a low body design, running boards, and wide doors. The ad emphasizes modern refinements: a new dry disc clutch, enclosed valves, improved brakes, left-hand drive, and center control. A notable detail: the company hired **Miss Elie de Wolfe**, a prominent interior decorator and arbiter of taste, to oversee the car's interior design. This positioning the Locomobile as America's "Best Built Car"—a luxury product for wealthy consumers who valued both engineering and artistic refinement. This reflects early automotive marketing targeting affluent buyers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ANNOUNCEMENT of the NEW LOCOMOBILE The New Locomobile shows that low body lines are in vogue. The Body is lower. The Running Boards are lower. The appearance is very smart, very attractive. In addition, the low step and the wide doors facilitate entrance and exit. Over one hundred Refinements produce even greater comfort and quietness. Also increased convenience and easier maintenance. Our many patrons will be interested to know that we have secured the services of Miss Elste deWolfe, eminently authoritative in art and decoration. This is the latest idea in the artistic development of the ‘‘Best Built Car in America.’’ Miss deWolfe’s influence will extend to the decorative treatment of the interiors of Locomobile Closed Cars. The Locomobile is made in strictly limited quantities, permitting us to give each individual car the utmost attention in every respect. A new Dry Disc Clutch is an important refinement. Enclosed valves. Refinements in Body, Carbureter, and Electrical Apparatus. Locomobile Brakes stp the car in an emergency, instead of only slowing it down. Left Drive and Center Control, the most popular and most convenient arrangement. Our Custom Body Department provides Special Bodies for individual needs, built to order. Mr. J. F. deCausse, for ten years manager of Kellners in Paris, brings to this department exceptional authority. The LOCOMOBILE COMPANY of America MAKERS OF FINE MOTOR CARS