Life, 1916-06-22 · page 47 of 48
Life — June 22, 1916 — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a **straightforward advertisement** for United States Tire Company's "Nobby" brand tires, published in *Life* magazine. The ad features a close-up photograph of a tire tread with prominent knobs (the bumps designed to improve grip). The sales pitch emphasizes that these "big, thick knobs" provide anti-skid protection and better traction than competitors. The copy claims "Nobby" Treads were "the first successful anti-skids" and are "the largest selling very high-grade anti-skids in the world." It positions the tire as one of five "Balanced" tire options from United States Rubber Company. This represents early automotive advertising, when tire safety features like tread patterns were novel selling points. Modern readers should note the era's emphasis on "anti-skids" as a premium safety feature—what we'd now consider basic tire technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Big, Thick Knobs— The Real Anti-Skids You get real anti-skid protection from a car sed y a, equipped with ‘Nobby’ Tread Tires. Aye] : The big, thick, resilient knobs take hold of the tory of : é road-surface with a real grip. Besides—no loss of traction—quick response to the clutch and accelerator—less wear on the tire through friction. ‘Nobby’ Treads were the first successful anti- skids—and are still the first. ‘Nobby’ Treads are the largest selling very high-grade anti-skids in the world. The ‘Nobby’ is one of the five United States ‘Balanced’ Tires which meet every motoring condition of price and use. Ask the nearest United States Tire Dealer for your copy of the booklet, “Judging Tires,” which tells how to choose the particular tire to suit your needs. Nobby Tread <~ “@ United States Tire Company ‘Nobby’ *Chain’ *Usco’ *Royal Cord’ ‘Plain’ One of the Five ‘Sy = ] “INDIVIDUALIZED TIRES” comicbooks.com