Life, 1918-05-16 · page 2 of 40
Life — May 16, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Fisk Rubber Company advertisement**, not political satire. The central image is a parody of Maxfield Parrish's famous painting style, depicting an exaggerated caricatured figure (appearing to represent a wealthy or powerful man) seated on a throne with two attendants holding an enormous tire. The tagline **"Fit for a King"** is the advertisement's central conceit—claiming Fisk Cord Tires are luxurious and high-quality enough for the most discerning customers. The theatrical, absurdist presentation emphasizes superiority and exclusivity. The Fisk company logo at bottom includes their mascot (a figure in period dress), and text notes availability at "140 Fisk Branches" nationwide. This is commercial advertising exploiting humorous visual exaggeration to promote tire quality and prestige.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FISK TIRES “Fit for a King” REPRODUCTION ¢f THE FAMOUS PAINTING MADE dy MAXFIELD ParrisH for THE Fisk RUBBER COMPANY Fisk Corp Tires are made especially for the resiliency, speed, safety, comfort, economy and car owner who can be satisfied with only the luxury that can be built into a tire. It is the highest type of tire construction and quality. master work of a great manufacturing institu- The Fisk Cord is a big tire. It enhances the tion, whose reputation for many years has been appearance of a car. It has all the endurance, for quality and proven value. MADE WITH BOTH KIBBED AND FISK NON-SKID TREADS And riding Size nary ti fully fi The innew ( Mill made tional to-the have t patent engag