Life, 1916-12-07 · page 65 of 94
Life — December 7, 1916 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **advertisement** for B.F. Goodrich Silvertown cord tires, appearing in Life magazine's Christmas issue. The "knife test" is a literal product demonstration: the ad shows a tire cross-section with a knife blade revealing its internal structure. The advertiser emphasizes Silvertown's superior "cable-cord" construction (a two-ply design) compared to competitors' cotton fabric or thread-cord alternatives, claiming advantages like better fuel economy, faster acceleration, and durability. The imagery—a large tire photographed with a knife cutting into it—serves as visual proof of product superiority. The red double-diamonds are the brand's identifying mark. This reflects early automotive advertising strategy: using technical demonstrations and comparative claims to establish product differentiation. For modern readers, it's notable mainly as period advertising style and the era when tire quality was apparently a major consumer concern.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-CHRISTMAS LIFE- ee = = a) GOODRICH SILVERTOWN CORD TIRES Stand the Knife Test =]OOK into this Silvertown Cord Tire, where the knife has stripped back its thick, tough Goodrich Black Safety Tread, and learn from those sturdy cable fa) cords—that sinewy two-ply body—what a cord tire really is. Were you able to put the knife test to all tires, you would find them of three types of bodies: Cotton fabric, swathed in five to seven plies; Thread cord, or Web, (strings the size of a trout line, held parallel the circumference of the tire by interspaced cross-threads) gummed together in five to seven plies; Cable-cord, the unique, patent-protected, wrap- ped two-ply structure, found ONLY in Silver- town, the original cord tire. Out of this exclusive construction of flexible cable- cords comes Silvertown’s resilience and durability—the greater comfort and ultimate economy, you can not afford to deny yourself. Know Silvertowns by their extra-size symmetry and their RED-DOUBLE-DIAMONDS. Why Silvertown Cords excel all fabric tires: 1. Increased engine power; 2. Smoother riding; 3. Fuel saving; 4.-Speedier; 5. Coast farther; 6. Start quicker; 7. Easier to guide; 8. Give greater mileage; 9. More resistive against puncture; 10. Repaired easily and successfully, The B. F. Goodrich Co., Akron, Ohio Also Makers of the famous fabric tires Goodrich Black Safety Treads ‘‘Silvertowns Make All Cars High Grade” comicbooks.com