Life, 1918-12-05 · page 3 of 76
Life — December 5, 1918 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **commercial advertisement**, not political satire. The page advertises the "Exide" Starting and Lighting Battery for automobiles, made by The Electric Storage Battery Company (established 1888). The imagery uses a mythological reference: a large muscular male figure (appearing to represent a classical giant or Hercules) is depicted with smaller figures including what appear to be Santa Claus, a baby, and a clown or jester. This "Giant that Lives in a Box" is a metaphor for the battery's power and reliability. The Christmas-themed framing ("old Father Christmas," "New Year") connects seasonal goodwill messaging to product reliability. The ad emphasizes the battery's durability and superiority over competitors, positioning it as a dependable service ready to help motorists through difficult conditions—likely referencing wartime restrictions or hardships affecting 1918 readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-CHRISTMAS LIFE- ., AT YOUR SERVICE- | The Giant that Lives in a Box In spite of war, of change and of extreme conditions—old Father Christ- mas, with his message of good cheer, the New Year with its new hopes and magnificent possibilities, and the “Sxide’ Starting and Lighting Battery and “Exide” Service, with proved worth to every motorist, are “yours to serve.” The > o “Exide Starting & Lighting Battery For Automobiles is made by The Electric Storage Battery Company, the oldest and largest maker of storage batteries in America. Its ability to give sturdy, dependable power, and to keep on giving it over a long lifetime of sub- stantial usefulness, has earned for it the title of “The Giant that Lives in a Box.” It is the battery of the unit-cell assembly, the patented non-flooding plugs, the tough, enduring jars, and other “service-proved” features— the battery that “costs most to make but least to use.” “YExide” Service is real service, with but one issue at stake—to see that the motorist gets out of the battery the absolute best that is built into it. There is an “JEx{de" Battery for every car and “JExide” Service Stations are located in principal cities and towns. . E. S. B. Co. Batteries are made for every battery purpose— practical bulletins covering any field will be sent on request THE ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY CO. 1888 PHILADELPHIA, PA, 1918 New York Chicago Cleveland Rochester Minneapolis Washington Denver Bost St. Louis Atlanta Pittsburgh Kansas City San Francisco Toronto “Exide? MycapsExide’’ ‘*troncladeExide'’ “*TbineExide"* “Cblorive Accumulator’ ** Tudor Hecumulator’* comicbooks.com