Life, 1919-04-10 · page 35 of 46
Life — April 10, 1919 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon or satire—it's a **full-page automobile advertisement** for the F. B. Stearns Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The page promotes Stearns automobiles by emphasizing their reliability and economy. The illustration shows a stylized early-1920s touring car positioned against a dramatic mountain landscape with hikers, suggesting adventure and durability. The ad's claims focus on the car's "sleeve-valve motor," which allegedly improves with use, gains flexibility, and runs smoothly and quietly. The text promises "composite quality" and "constant dependability" while offering seven model choices. This represents typical early automotive advertising rhetoric—emphasizing mechanical superiority and trustworthiness to appeal to affluent buyers considering which brand to purchase. The mountainous setting symbolizes the car's capability for rugged travel.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Constant Dependability Continuous Economy ROM the first car, Stearns composite quality has won an F iteiostative approval which is accorded none save the leader. And this reputation has been steadfastly held throughout the years that have followed. In actual service, Stearns cars have rendered a degree of de- pendability and economy that has merited this approval and the confidence of motor-wise buyers everywhere. Stearns mechanical practice means the concentration of accuracy upon each individual car. It means the elimination of features that are known liabilities in motor car operation. It means the delivery of performance that exceeds your own expec- tations. In all the history of mechanical arts, no other record is given of worth increasing as operation continues. Yet in the Stearns sleeve-valve motor, this attribute is universally acknowledged. The motor does develop more power. It gains in flexibility, smoothness and the silence for which Stearns is noted Stearns design is fashionably modern. Seven models to choose from—all equally pleasing in appearance, speedy and thoroughly good in every detail THE F. B. STEARNS COMPANY CLEVELAND, OHIO Readers are invited to write for catalog of new 1920 models and details of Stearns quality, comicbooks.com