Life, 1917-01-25 · page 3 of 40
Life — January 25, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **Winton Company automobile advertisement**, not satirical content. The "Winton Six" illustration at the top shows an early motorcar with several well-dressed passengers. The advertisement's text argues that charm comes from **individuality and distinctiveness** — that uniformity in friends and possessions becomes "intolerable." It then pivots to selling Winton cars as personalized luxury vehicles reflecting individual taste, positioning them as status symbols for discerning owners. The pricing ($3000+ for closed cars, $2685-$3500 for open cars) suggests this targets wealthy consumers during what appears to be the 1920s automobile era. The message appeals to affluent readers' desire for distinctive, customized possessions that signal refined taste and social distinction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Charm in Women, Men and Cars If your friends all looked alike, dressed alike, acted alike, and talked alike, they would become intolerable. Mo- notony is the death of friendship and of interest in life. their un-likeness, their distinctiveness, their individuality. Enjoyable human contact needs freedom from dead-level sim- ilarity in friends and their equipment. We admire individuality in homes, in gardens, in dress, and in motor cars. And all of us com- mend the taste and good form of those who have a sense of the beautiful in these things. r [ NHE charm that men and women have for each other is in Happy is the owner of a splendid motor car designed expressly to his personal taste, a car that distinctly de/ongs to him. ‘To create for you precisely that most desirable car is the Winton Company’s Closed Cars purpose. Our artists and artisans are at your service, prepared to £3000 and up. supply body style, color harmony and appointments just as you Open Cars would have them. It is our happiness to make your wishes come $0085 to $3500. true. Simply telephone or drop us a card. The Winton.Company 92 Berea Road, Cleveland Winton Branch Houses in New York, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle. comicbooks.com