Life, 1918-04-04 · page 39 of 40
Life — April 4, 1918 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The page promotes Macbeth automobile headlight lenses manufactured by Macbeth-Evans Glass Company of Pittsburgh. The humor in the title—"O.K. By The Police"—plays on early automotive safety concerns. Police were increasingly enforcing headlight regulations, as different states had conflicting laws about light intensity and direction. The ad suggests that Macbeth lenses comply with these legal requirements, so drivers won't face police citations or ambulance calls due to inadequate lighting. The policeman pictured adjusts a car's headlamp, illustrating the product's key selling point: directions included with each pair explain proper adjustment for "exact range of light required by different state laws." This reflects the early-20th-century automotive era when standardized safety equipment was still developing and legal compliance was a genuine consumer concern—making "police approval" a genuine marketing advantage rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ine ce ag ittle ing try, edi- By The Police acbeth Lens O NOT wait until the D ambulance or the pa- trol wagon painfully re- minds you of the n ty for the. safe and legal Mac- beth lenses on your car. Directions with every pair explain how to adjust Jamps for exact range of light required by different state laws. You can tell the Macbeth Lens by its ex tusive green glass visor. The front surface of the lens is divided into five horizontal prisms. They re-direct and bend the rays of light at the cor- rect angle to give a long light and concentrated bril- liance on the road. the back spread the light laterally, providing side il- lumination. Four years were devoted by experts to perfecting this scientific Macbeth lens. Do not risk open-faced or inferior lenses that blind, waste light in upward rays, weaken or diffuse light— The concave recesses in get the Macbeth lens! Price per pair $5—Denver and West $5. S0-_ Canela $6—Winnipeg and West $6.50 Macbet garage Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, Pittsburgh Branch Offces in: Boston; Buflato, Chicago: Cincinnati; Cleveland; ‘ew York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; San’ Francisco; St. Louis, Macbeth-Evans Glass Co., Ltd., Toronto, Canada lenses are for sale by leading jobbers, accessory dealers and 1 Hf sour dbaker conwat enpply sour wrlle discet to te I comicbooks.com