Life, 1917-03-08 · page 37 of 42
Life — March 8, 1917 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Republic Rubber Company tires, placed in Life magazine. The page features a large tire framing the Statue of Liberty, using patriotic imagery to associate the product with American progress and innovation. The company claims their "Prédium Process" for rubber compounding represents a major technological breakthrough, comparing it to Republic's earlier invention of the non-skid tire. The accompanying text emphasizes durability ("one inch square will support a weight of 3400 pounds") and longevity, arguing the tire's economic value justifies its cost. The lower section shows product literature and brand materials. The only mild wordplay appears in the headline "The History of the Republic"—a pun conflating the tire company's name with American history—but this is gentle corporate branding rather than satire. This is period advertising using nationalist symbolism to promote consumer goods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The History of the Republic HE Prédium Process of compounding rub- ber is probably the greatest boon ever conferred on tire users. Its discovery is as momentous as was Republic's invention of the non-skid tire. Its economic value cannot be computed. It brings enormous savings to tire buyers. REPUBLIC frociss TIRES It makes rubber wondrously tough. It gives it much greater resistance to wear. It increases strength to a point where a strip of Prodium Rubber one inch square will support a weight of 3400 pounds. The importance to you of Prodium Process is the long life it puts into Republic Tires. Even after the staggard studs are worn smooth, thou- sands of miles of service remain in the tire. Prodium Rubber wears very slowly and as evenly as a piece of tempered steel. The history of the Republic is a history of pro- gressive improvement in tire-making. Send for a sample of Prodium Rubber. Republic Black-Line Red Inner Tubes Have a Record Free from Trouble. The Republic Rubber Company Youngstown, Ohio Branches and Dealers in all Principal Cities Made in the Famou. STAGGARp and Plain Treads + TRADE mame REGISTERED. U.S, PATENT OFFICE =} comicbooks.com