Life, 1920-01-15 · page 29 of 36
Life — January 15, 1920 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Goodyear tire tube advertisement**, not political satire. Published in 1920 (per the copyright), it promotes Goodyear's "Heavy Tourist Tubes" for automobiles. The advertisement's central claim is reliability demonstrated through a transcontinental journey: three tubes traveled from Boston to San Francisco in a Goodyear Motor Express vehicle on their original air, allegedly proving product durability. The accompanying image shows a heavily loaded truck climbing a rocky hill, visually emphasizing the stress these tubes endure. The sales pitch emphasizes value: at approximately sixty cents more than inferior tubes, they represent smart economy for protecting expensive tire casings. The ad notes Goodyear tubes' superiority through market dominance—"more Goodyear Tubes are used than any other kind." For modern readers, this reflects early automotive culture when tire tubes were separate, replaceable components (unlike today's tubeless tires) and when cross-country motor trips were novel enough to serve as marketing testimonials.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The merit of Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes is best evidenced by their popularity. More Goodyear Tubes are used than any other kind pertcht 1920, by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, 0. Think what the tubes in the big Goodyear Cord Tires have to stand. Yet three of these tubes traveled on their original air all the way from Boston to San Francisco with the Goodyear Transcontinental Motor Express. What tribute to their reliability and staunchness! Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes for passenger cars, like the larger a tubes for trucks, are made of pure gum strips, built up layer-upon-layer. They cost but little more(an average of sixty cents)than tubes of less merit. Surely it is false economy to risk, for sosmallasum, acostly casing. Goodyear Heavy Tourist Tubes come packed in a water- proof, oil-proof bag. More Goodyear Tubes are used than any other kind. comicbooks.com eee ee es