Life, 1916-07-20 · page 4 of 44
Life — July 20, 1916 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Chalmers automobile company's "7-22" model for 1917, featuring the company's "Quality First" logo. The image shows a side-view silhouette of an open-top touring car with a distinctive large wheel and steering mechanism visible. The accompanying text emphasizes the car's aesthetic and performance qualities—describing it as "quick, alert, 'light of foot'" with "terrific hill force and exquisite acceleration." The advertisement mentions six other Chalmers models available at various price points, positioning Chalmers as an upscale automotive manufacturer offering quality across multiple price ranges. This represents standard automotive advertising from the 1917 era, not editorial content or political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Quality There are six other Chalmers, any one fit for a king; each low in price, These seven cars, which the House of Chalmers has built five months in advance—for 1917, astonish. They excite and please the eye nerves by rare good taste in line and color, They amaze by power of performance—quick, alert, “‘light of foot’ like a sensitive, high-strung animal, with terrific hill force and exquisite acceleration. They surprise by a generosity in merit of material; not only in steel backbone, steel ribs and aluminum fists, but in leather garment and richness of polish, That, no doubt, makes doubly sensational the prices. Think of them: First A Chalmers Sedan for $178) (You save §300 h A Chalmers Limousine for $248 (You save $500 here) A Chalmers Town Car for $248 (You save $500 here) A 5-passenger Chalmers for $1080 (You save $200 here) A 7-passenger Chalmers for $1280 (You save $250 here) A Chalmers Roadster for $1070 (You save 2200 here) A Chalmers Cabriolet for $1440 (You save $250 here) Beauty, performance, quality, price—if you travel two days march you'll never meet an equal in all four points—perbar' never in three. It’s a full line of cars and it’s a line that*ll save you many shopping jaunt. You can compare car for car here in a Chalmey store—under one roof. Women and men who have been writing large checks in seaso™