Life, 1915-12-02 · page 5 of 100
Life — December 2, 1915 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily a straightforward advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the "Exide" Starting and Lighting Battery for automobiles, made by the Electric Storage Battery Company of Philadelphia (founded 1888). The advertisement uses a classical "giant" figure—likely evoking Greek/Roman statuary or strongman imagery—compressed into a wooden box to illustrate their marketing concept: "The Giant That Lives in a Box." The visual metaphor compares the battery's compressed power to a muscular giant confined in compact form. The copy emphasizes the product's strength, reliability, and extensive service network across the United States and Canada. There is no apparent political commentary or satire—this is simply early 20th-century commercial advertising using classical imagery to suggest power and durability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-CHRISTMAS LIFE- THE GIANT THAT LIVES INABOX “Exide” Starting & Lighting Battery For Automobiles HE “Exide Starting and Lighting Battery is a giant, whose mightiness is compressed into a sturdy wooden case and whose power is specialized to one purpose—that of starting and lighting your automobile. It is made for strength and endurance and has a reserve power instantly ready for all demands. The ‘Exide’ Battery represents service—not a promise of service but the real article. This Company maintains fifteen offices in the United States and one in Canada; “‘Extde” Depots, practically branch factories, are located in thirteen of the principal cities where large stocks of batteries and parts are always on hand to supply the hundreds of “Extde” Service Stations which have been established throughout the country. These are real service oe equipped with batteries and parts and run by experienced men who know the battery business and who LOOK FOR ied el 2" are ready to serve you day and night THIS SIGN “Exe in the unequalled ‘‘ Exide" way. & Send at once for that clever little book “A Sure Start Assured.” It's free. THE ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY Co. The largest manufacturer of Storage Batteries in the country 1888 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1915 New York Boston Chicago Washington Denver SanFrancisco _ Seattle St. Louis Cleveland Atlanta = Pittsburgh = Detroit’ © Rochester Los Angeles == Toronto comicbooks.com.