Life, 1917-05-31 · page 29 of 38
Life — May 31, 1917 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. The page features a massive Goodyear tire dominating the composition, with a vintage automobile and well-dressed motorist at its base for scale. The ad argues that Goodyear's cord tires—a newer technology than fabric tires—justify their premium price through superior comfort, mileage, speed, and fuel efficiency. The comparison to "driving a horse" humorously suggests fabric tires are obsolete. The setting at "Piping Rock Country Club" on Long Island signals an affluent audience. This appears designed for *Life* magazine's upscale readership to convince them that higher tire costs represent genuine economy through performance gains. There is no political cartoon or social satire here—it's straightforward early 20th-century automotive marketing emphasizing technological superiority and practical value to justify premium pricing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Piping Rock Country Club— Goodyear Tires, Heavy Tourist Tubes and Long Island, New York “Tire Saver” Accessories are easy to get from Goodyear Service Station Dealers everywhere. The Material Advantages | of Goodyear Cords Many motorists tell us that once a man uses Goodyear Cord Tires on his car, he will no more go back to the fabric kind than he would to driving a horse. They say the additional comfort and riding-ease delivered by these flexible tires forever spoil one for the earlier stiff type. Perhaps they exaggerate somewhat, out of an excess of enthusiasm; or again, per- ‘haps not. Certainly Goodyear Cords are much spryer and livelier than ordinary tires. But even if they were not, and were merely equal in comfort to others, there would still be reason for preferring them. For the extra mileages they deliver, the extra speed they give your car, the extra dis- tances they exact from fuel, the freedom from trouble they insure—these are material advantages of dollars-and-cents value. Alcopether, they make the higher price of Goodyear Cords the part of economy, and the tires themselves the quality product of the tire industry. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio comicbooks.com