Life, 1919-06-12 · page 3 of 46
Life — June 12, 1919 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **tire advertisement disguised as a cartoon joke** from Life magazine (page 1019). The image shows a stylishly dressed woman (left) and two men in a convertible car with license plate "N191L." The dialogue reads: **Woman:** "Aren't your tires whales!" **Man:** "Not at all; whales blow occasionally; Kelly-Springfield Cords never do." The joke plays on "whales" as slang for worn or defective tires (which "blow out" or fail). The punchline advertises Kelly-Springfield Cords as superior tires that never blow, in contrast to inferior tires that do. The art deco style and fashionable figures suggest this targets affluent car owners. This is **promotional content** marketed as entertainment—a common advertising technique in early 20th-century magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ s 4 Z 2 jo = = = oN \ gn) rd , “NM ape “ Aren't your tires whales!” “ Not at all: whales blow occasionally ; Kelly-Springfield Cords never do.” comicbooks.com