Life — November 22, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **luxury automobile advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The Locomobile Company of America is marketing their Series Two Limousines as high-end vehicles with traditionally designed coach work. The ad's appeal emphasizes that closed cars are "desirable because the Coach Work is conventional in design, thus is perennially in excellent style and taste." This suggests closed automobiles were becoming fashionable among wealthy buyers—a shift from open-air vehicles. The ornate classical architectural framing (columns, urns, decorative elements) reinforces the product's luxury and timeless elegance. The illustration shows a formal limousine with multiple passenger compartments, targeting affluent clientele who valued both comfort and refined aesthetics in early 20th-century motorcar design.