Life, 1919-02-13 · page 35 of 42
Life — February 13, 1919 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising**, not satire. The page promotes the Franklin automobile through testimonial advertising. The illustration shows a well-dressed man in a coat and hat standing beside a Franklin car, apparently about to depart on a journey. Three passengers are visible inside the vehicle. The advertisement argues that potential car buyers incorrectly focus on "first cost" (purchase price) rather than "result" (total cost of operation). It cites Franklin owners' records claiming superior fuel economy (20 mpg vs. 10) and tire longevity (10,000 miles vs. 5,000), plus slower depreciation. The credibility appeal features testimony from an unnamed "Inventor and Explosive Expert of International Fame" who reports owning a Franklin since May 1916 with 23,300 miles, requiring no maintenance—valves never ground, original tires outlasting expectations. For modern readers: this represents early automotive marketing emphasizing reliability and economy to justify premium pricing, before standardized fuel-economy ratings existed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NTIL recently many people figured that they could not afford a [ fine car. But they figured on a first cost basis, wholly; which world events have proved is a mistake; it is the result that counts—not first cost. The Franklin Car has demonstrated that it is the cost of operation and rate of depreciation that determine the real value of a car. The Franklin owners’ day-by-day records of 20 miles to the gallon of gasoline—instead of 10 10,000 miles to the set of tires—instead of 5,000 coupled with 50% slower depreciation than any other fine car, are draw- ing more and more people to the Franklin. At the samme time, you will find thousands of Franklins owned by people who do not have to count costs, but who want the best. And it is because these astonishing features of economy are associated with other qualities of fineness, resiliency, safety and riding comfort unequaled in any other car. THE FRANKLIN CAR An Inventor and Explosive Expert of International Fame Writes: “Tt came over me the other day on a long ride to Boston and return, that this Franklin car of mine was a pretty good job, and that it was up to me to see that the man responsible for it did not go un- credited, “The car was bought new the first of May, 1916. Since that time it has run 23,300 miles. It FRANKLIN AUTOMOBILE COMPANY, has never broken anything; the valves have never been ground, and it runs today just a little better than it did when new. The set of front tires which came with the car was taken off after running 20,000 miles, and was sold. I grew tired of waiting for them to wear out. The rear tires ran 14,000 to 15,000 miles.” SYRACUSE, N. Y.