Life, 1916-05-11 · page 10 of 48
Life — May 11, 1916 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **White Motor Company automobile advertisement**, not political satire. The page depicts an elegant 1920s scene: well-dressed passengers in a custom-built White touring car, parked among tall trees with other vehicles visible. A chauffeur operates the vehicle. The ad emphasizes that White's "center cowl" (hood design) cannot be imitated—it's protected by copyright. The copywriting stresses how the car's graceful proportions and high-quality materials distinguish it from competitors. The humor is subtle, playing on wealthy motorists' desire to display status through exclusive automotive design. The nighttime forest setting suggests leisure and luxury travel accessible only to the affluent. This is straightforward period advertising, not satirical commentary on social issues or politics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Custom Built Tho beauty of the White touring body has been so marked during the past year that more than a score of makers are attempting to imitate some of its distinctive features ¢ the center cowl for instance. But the charm of the White center cowl can not be divorced from its setting. It is the effect of harmonious proportions and of graceful lines sweeping to and from it. To vary its width or height or curve is to lose the effect. If the White contour were not copyrighted and could be paralleled in its enure design, the result would still be inappropriate without the high quality materials and costly hand labor which enter into White body construction. In specifying the upholstery and finish of White bodies each owner is afforded an opportunity to express his individual taste. THE WHITE COMPANY Cleveland, Ohio. comicbooks.com