Life, 1919-01-09 · page 29 of 34
Life — January 9, 1919 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Goodyear Tire advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page announces the resumption of passenger car tire production after World War I. **The Image:** Shows a large Goodyear tire superimposed over the Arc de Triomphe in Paris—a celebratory visual linking the company's wartime contributions to the Allied victory. **The Message:** Goodyear explains that during WWI, they pivoted production from civilian tires to military supplies (gas masks, aircraft tires, balloons, dirigibles). The government then limited all tire makers to 50% output. Now, with restrictions eased and "normal conditions being restored," Goodyear is increasing passenger tire production to meet demand. **The Pitch:** The company encourages customers to pre-order tires immediately to secure prompt delivery as demand rises. This reflects post-WWI American corporate messaging: emphasizing patriotic wartime sacrifice while pivoting back to profitable civilian markets. The Paris landmark symbolizes victory and normalcy returning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
i I CAre de Triomphe, Paris ANNOUNCEMENT W E are again resuming quantity production on Goodyear Passenger Car Tires for private use. The shortage of these tires that existed during the period of war was inevitable. Promptly upon America’s entry into the war, Goodyear devoted great effort to the production of gas masks, airplane, automobile and truck tires, balloons and dirigibles, urgently needed by our army and navy. This, of course, necessitated a cut in our pas- senger car tire output, for general distribution. Later, there came the Government order limit- ing all tire makers to 50 per cent of their normal output. This restriction has since been amended. So, as normal conditions are being restored, we are increasing our production steadily in an effort to meet the greatly increased demand for Goodyear Tires. However, to insure prompt delivery, we suggest that you estimate your near-future requirements, placing your order now with your Goodyear Service Station Dealer. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO EL ZA BS comicbooks.com C= Y= GOCD\ AKRON