Life — October 25, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is not a cartoon or satire—it's a **full-page advertisement for the Locomobile Company of America**, a luxury automobile manufacturer. The page features an ornate decorative border in classical style and an illustration of a touring car labeled "Limousines & Landaulets." The text promotes the Locomobile's craftsmanship, claiming it represents "conventional body design, harmonized inside and out by experts of experience and taste" and is "built in limited quantities, of the finest materials." The ad emphasizes exclusivity and lasting quality—that the car "retains year after year a pronounced excellence, both as a fine vehicle and a fine machine." This reflects early 20th-century luxury marketing that positioned automobiles as refined, prestigious goods comparable to fine art or machinery.