Life, 1917-04-05 · page 14 of 70
Life — April 5, 1917 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Michelin Tire Company advertisement** from Life magazine, not a political cartoon. The narrative depicts a motorist speeding confidently in the top panel ("One perfect day, a motorist gay / Was speeding o'er the ground, / His tires all were full of air / And nice and hard and round"). The bottom panel shows his comeuppance: he's suffered a flat tire ("But suddenly he heard a noise / That fairly raised his hat, / And when he gathered strength to look / Right there the shift is FLAT"). The ad's message is straightforward product promotion: Michelin tires keep you safe and trouble-free when properly maintained. The humorous misfortune befalling the speeding driver serves as both entertainment and implicit endorsement—suggesting inferior tires would fail under similar conditions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
One perfect day, a motorist gay Was speeding o’er the ground, His tires all were full of air ond 4, But suddenly he heard a noise That fairly raised his hat, And when he gathered strength to look reap greatest ser jour tires, of their awe Jree en obligation of MICHELIN TIRE CO, MILLTOWN, - N. J. THE MICHEL comicbooks colin