Life, 1919-03-06 · page 38 of 42
Life — March 6, 1919 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement** for the Stearns-Knight motor car, not political satire. The F.B. Stearns Company of Cleveland uses the post-WWI moment to market their new vehicle line. The ad's strategy: position Stearns as patriotically duty-bound. During World War I, the company suspended civilian car production to manufacture Rolls-Royce aviation engines for the war effort—presented here as a badge of honor demonstrating "high ideals." Now with peace restored, Stearns claims this wartime engineering experience has enhanced their civilian cars, making the new Stearns-Knight superior to competitors. The repeated emphasis on quality, American craftsmanship, and comparison to "finest cars of foreign manufacture" appeals to post-war nationalist sentiment. The left illustration depicts an urban street scene, anchoring the aspirational product to American city life. This is corporate advertising leveraging patriotism to rebuild market share after wartime disruption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Reflected in New Series Stearns N gti it was Stearns’ privilege to introduce America’s first: Knight- motored car to the motoring public. Each year witnessed a wider acknowledgment of the remarkable performance and high quality of this car. Then war came. lt made insistent demands upon every line of en deavor. Motor car makers quickly turned to war production. Because of the high ideals which surrounded every designing and manufacturing operation, the Stearns organization was chosen for the production of Rolls-Royce aviation motors in America. This notable commission has been completed. Tt has been a signal achievement and has resulted in high compliments to Stearns eiticieney The return to peace finds this organization fitted for greater accom plishments. The original Stearns excellence, coupled with this significant experience, has wrought a motor car masterpiece in the new series Stearns- Knight cars. In the quality of design, performance, workmanship and material, the Stearns-Knight stands unparalleled in American motor car practice. It inherent value it is comparable only with the finest cars of foreign manu- facture. Power and Stearns are synonymous. In flexibility and smoothness, the new series Stearns offers motordom the ultimate in dependal So in every particular—in the silence of the car, in the unusual har- mony of design and finish, in performance, Stearns brings the motor cat quality that is sought for everywhere Stearns-Knight is distinctly America’s motor car. THE F. B.STEARNS COMPANY, Cleveland, 0 Write for illustrated brochure detailing ticulars of Stearns-Kuight ideals as exe fied in the new seri: a booklet of particular interest to those interested in post-war molor car buildi