Life, 1916-07-27 · page 27 of 32
Life — July 27, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct elements: **Main Advertisement**: Westinghouse Electric promotes electric starting systems for Ford automobiles, positioning the technology as enabling women ("Let Her Drive Your Ford") to operate vehicles without manual hand-cranking. The pitch emphasizes safety and ease for female drivers. **Cartoon Story ("Still Companionable")**: A satirical dialogue between a white mistress and her Black maid named Jennie, who arrives injured. The "joke" relies on a deeply offensive racial stereotype: Jennie remains loyal to her abusive husband despite repeated violence (dragging by hair, choking, threats). The humor—by the magazine's intent—comes from portraying her acceptance of domestic abuse as comedic resignation. This reflects the era's racist attitudes normalizing violence against Black women. **Secondary Ads**: Old Overholt Rye whiskey and Dr. Jeanne Walter's weight-reduction treatment. The page exemplifies early 20th-century *Life* magazine's casual racism and sexism. While the car advertisement addressed "modern" female independence, the cartoon simultaneously mocked Black women's supposed contentment with brutality—a deeply troubling juxtaposition reflecting the period's contradictory attitudes toward gender and race.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PRRE ich ‘Westinslious Let Her Drive Your Ford Of course she can’t do it so long as the Distributors: engine has to be turned over by hand at (lanta, Alcranier Seewald Co. every start, But with Westinghouse Elec- i «Hote ot ‘Come, tric Starting and Lighting Equipment ay ert “Prante & Co on your Ford, she can drive it easily and — fhiap Msce Gey fae comfortably. oct Res 4 ‘The Westinghouse is a 12-volt system producing a ] cranking-speed of 175 revolutions a minute. Adju: | F able bracket, compensating sprocket and silent chai ‘ three tons strong, eliminats chain troubles. a) = Be | Lights controlled from the driver's seat by push- ie 4 F buttons—will burn when cngine is stopped, if desired, ‘can be turned up or down. While Westinghouse does not build cheap equip- ment, it docs not advise buying more costly equipment than you need. When you pay $85 for this system, you can feel certain you are getting your money's worth. Write or phone now to the nearest distributor, He will put you in touch with a dealer in your vicinity. Westincuo ELECTRIC & MA. ; a Automobile Sul Companionable Smapysive Works IE, the colored maid, arrived one morning with her head swathed in bandages—the result of an argument with her hot-tempered spouse. “Jennie,” said her mistress, “ your es husband treats you outrageously. Why . don't you leave him?” cage “Well, I don’ ‘zactly wants to leave him.” “Hasn't he dragged you the length of the room by your hair?” demanded her mistress. “Yas'm, he has done dat.” ists. $85 with storage For Hospitals : hattéry arid eoery- H°s?!rats use nothing but thing else needed bottled-in-bond whiskey, and = \ the brands chosen are judged by = their purity and strength as well. SS SS a Old Overholt Rye w Haan he choked you into insensi _|REDUCE YOUR FLESH niece union] bitty?” * | POSPLSSE ROSES Shs Gani ateppenes * SY 4 is the choice of most hos- ff “Yas'm, he sho has choked me.” Dr. Jeanne Walter's pitals, which attests to the [i “And now doesn’t he threaten to split fade of this pure, excep- your head with an a: 2 and bonded te bee eee ““Yas'm, he has done all dat,” agreed . iat wt favorite of a century. Jennie, “but he ain’ done nothin’ yet j A. OVERHOLT & CO, so bad I couldn't live wid him.” Pittaburah, Pa. “ Tiere will be ladies coming as well, sergeant: how many do you think we can hundred, sir, easy—sitting fa- London Opinion miliar!” comicbooks.com