Life, 1920-01-01 · page 2 of 48
Life — January 1, 1920 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satirical content**—it's a straightforward **advertisement for United States Tires** appearing in Life magazine. The ad employs a colonial/imperial narrative: it describes how "thousands of acres of jungle-land in Sumatra have been transformed into flourishing rubber plantations" to supply US Tire production. The accompanying photographs show plantation operations and manufacturing processes. The ad emphasizes that US Tires controls its own rubber supply, ensuring quality. The repeated phrase "United States Tires are Good Tires" is the core marketing message. The decorative silhouettes at bottom (appearing to show colonial or tropical imagery) and the company logo reinforce the brand identity. This reflects early-20th-century American industrial confidence and the commercial exploitation of colonial rubber resources—presented here as a positive achievement in manufacturing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
— and the sole aim is the longer, better service of United States Tires THOUSANDS of acres of jungle- land in Sumatra have been trans- formed into flourishing rubber plantations in order to serve the best interests of buyers of United States Tires. The tropic jungle has been hewn away, rubber trees planted by the millions, methods and machinery installed for the collection, cleaning and baling of rubber of the high quality required for United States Tires. Today the United States Rubber Company is the only rubber manu- facturer controlling its own rubber supply in any large degree. The substantial and vital advantages in quality which ensue, are for the good of the users of United States Tires. An army of specialists stands guard over every step of manufac- ture. United States Tires are good tires because their ultimate good- ness is considered from first to last. The user must be pleased to the end of the final mile. United States Tires are Good Tires comicbooks.com