Life, 1919-05-29 · page 33 of 42
Life — May 29, 1919 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a Goodyear Tubes advertisement from Life magazine (page 957). The large illustration shows a massive inflated tube arch dominating a landscape with a biplane flying through it—a visual metaphor comparing tire tube construction to airship (blimp) technology. The ad's headline, "Solving the Inflation Problem," uses a double meaning: it literally addresses how Goodyear tubes retain air pressure, but the phrase "inflation problem" would have resonated differently with 1920s readers facing post-WWI economic inflation and cost-of-living concerns. The copy explains that Goodyear applies the same layered rubber construction ("layer-upon-layer") used in gas-bag balloons to create superior inner tubes. The implicit pitch: just as advanced engineering keeps blimps aloft, these tubes stay inflated and protect your tires longer—justifying their higher price. The ad is straightforward corporate marketing, not political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ills for unnec- habit. take a en are avers. ything nickel t gen- by the TIO OSSIBILY you may have wondered A why it isthat Goodyear Heavy Tour- ist Tubes are such good containers of air and why they last so long.’ The most dramatic answer to that query is ihe giant gas bags which Goodyear builds. Essentially the same underlying principles of construction with which Goodyear folved the inflation problem for lighter- than-air apply to the manufacture of Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes. rubberized fabrics, built up layer-upon-layer, form the most practical container for the elusive gas of the balloon. Logically, therefore, this same built-up principle of construction proves most effective in the manufacture of Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes where the inflation problem is greatly simplified. Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes are made of pure grey rubber, built up and cured together, /ayer-upon-layer— many plies thick. ‘Then the valve-patch is firmly vuleanized-in. Small wonder that these tubes hold air tenaciously and last remarkably long ! Our dealers tell us repeatedly that car- owners who are once persuaded to pay the slightly added cost of these thick, grey tubes, will have no other kind from that day on. For they soon learn that these tubes are the best form of tire insurance—that they work well with and protect good casings. More Goodyear Tubes are used than any other kind. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO ODP YEAR AKRON comicbooks.com