Life, 1919-03-20 · page 3 of 44
Life — March 20, 1919 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It's a United States Rubber Company advertisement for "Royal Cord" tires, appearing in *Life* magazine (page 439). The ad uses dramatic visual design—a close-up cross-section of a tire showing its internal cord structure—to promote product superiority. The accompanying text emphasizes technical features: multiple cord layers placed diagonally for strength, rubber impregnation, and overall durability. Small illustrations of vehicles (a car and truck) appear in the tire's center, suggesting the tire's suitability for various uses. A company seal appears at the bottom. This is straightforward commercial messaging from the automobile tire era, highlighting manufacturing quality rather than delivering political or social satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* “LIFE: United States Tires are Good Tires A Titan Among Tires The ‘Royal Cord’ is super-strong. It has more than enough strength in the carcass. More than enough thick- ness in the sidewall. More than enough toughness in the tread. The tire structure is built up of powerful, sinewy cords —tens of thousands of them in many layers. Each adds its individual strength to the tremendous sum-total of the tire as a whole. The layers of cords are placed diagonally In opposite directions. Each cord and each layer has free play— entirely unrestricted by cross-weave. Also, cords and layers are impregnated with live, springy rubber. So, in addition to giant strength, there about the *Royal Cord’ an aliveness and responsiveness that is amazing. The ‘Royal Cord’ is one of five distinctive United States Tires—all good tires—all built with the surplus strength that means long life and lowest cost per mile. No matter what type of car you drive, or what kind of roads you travel, there are United States Tires that will exactly meet your needs. Also Tires for Motor Trucks, Motorcycles, Bicycles and Airplanes j comicbooks.com