Life, 1916-07-20 · page 3 of 44
Life — July 20, 1916 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It's a Thermoid Rubber Company ad for brake linings, appearing in Life magazine (page 91). The illustration depicts a dramatic traffic emergency: an overloaded automobile swerves to avoid pedestrians and a child in the street. The ad's message uses this scenario to promote safety—specifically, Thermoid's "Hydraulic Compressed Brake Lining-100%." The text argues that powerful engines are useless without reliable brakes, and that brake failure occurs when lining wears. The ad emphasizes Thermoid's superior brake lining composition and makes a guarantee: "Thermoid will make good or we will." This is vintage advertising leveraging public safety concerns to sell automotive products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mall Mates, it, Canada. The Big Emergency! Every motorist can recall a string of little emergencies, each one sure proof that the Bigger Emergency may lie just around the corner. - When the Big Emergency comes for you, will your brakes hold? Will they? You may have a 40 H. P. motor but you can’t use any of that power to stop the car. Your power is a liability when your brakes fail. Brakes fail when the lining is worn out. Do you know what kind of lining is on your car? When it's only half brake lining, brakes fail without warning. hernmo, wy So ate them ge pro f dollars eve-valve aU. S.A” HYDRAULIC COMPRESsep Brake Lining -100% Brake lining that is not 100% perfect is like a heart failure. A sudden shock— a Big Emergency—may mean death. Thermoid Brake Lining has 100% gripping and holding power even when it is worn Faper thin. ‘That means that lined with Thermoid your akes will hold, not only when you are just >pping your car but when you have to op quick or hit something. Thermoid wears because it is cured under hydraulic compression into a solid substance of uniform density. It contains 50% more material foot for foot than do other kinds. Watch your brakes—remember that without a lining they are not brakes at all. Consider, too, how much better it is to see they are lined with Thermoid Brake Lining than to have a finely equipped motor crumpled into junk in an instant, or to have to race to a hospital with a child or adult you would not have hit if your brakes had held. Thermoid will make good or we will Thermo Rubber Company Trenton, N. J. Makers of Nassau Tires and Thermoid Garden Hose *YDRAULIC COMPRESSED Brake Lining-100% OUR GUARANTEE: Brake Lining is absolutely guaranteed to ‘satisfactory results and to outwear any manufactured. Not affected by heat, sasoline or dirt. comicbooks.com