Life, 1916-08-10 · page 36 of 38
Life — August 10, 1916 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes the Series 9 Franklin automobile, highlighting its engineering features and design innovations. The image shows a vintage early-1900s open-air automobile displayed alongside a well-dressed man examining it. The text emphasizes the Franklin Car's technical superiority: its use of specialized materials (chrome-manganese steel, aluminum body), electric furnace transmission gears, and ease of operation. The advertisement targets engineers and technically-minded readers by emphasizing **scientific elimination of excess weight** and careful material selection—positioning the Franklin as the thinking person's automobile. The scenic background and composed presentation suggest luxury and modern progress. This represents typical early automotive advertising strategy: appealing to rational, technical expertise rather than speed or style alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
i ‘ a Dealers “oni iare' in the ual Franklin Automobile railways, shipbuilding and aero excess weight, the design and the i TM Wi Ti In the transmission gears we have ¢l lectric furnace chrome: -mangarese stee]— num body,mud-guards, engine b: he Series 9 Franklin Touring Car, will be interested to see the 2 nari siaiee of It is even easier to drive and steer thi lection of materials for the work they have to do. fortable car, comicbooks. com