Life — April 27, 1916 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is **not a political cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Timken Roller Bearings, published in *Life* magazine (page 783). The page displays technical diagrams of automobile bearing components: wheel hubs, transmission gears, differentials, and pinion shafts. The accompanying text explains where bearings are used in vehicles and why Timken bearings specifically perform well under stress. The headline "Where?" poses a rhetorical question answered by the detailed technical explanation: Timken bearings belong in critical automotive locations where friction and load are heaviest. The advertisement emphasizes durability and precision engineering as selling points. This represents typical early-20th-century industrial advertising, using educational content about mechanical components to build brand credibility among vehicle owners and mechanics.