Life, 1920-02-12 · page 43 of 44
Life — February 12, 1920 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not political satire but rather a **full-page automobile advertisement** from Life magazine. The image shows a Pierce-Arrow motorcar driving through a forest of tall trees, emphasizing the vehicle's power and reliability. The ad's text uses luxury marketing language typical of early automotive advertising, claiming the "Dual Valve Six" engine provides "smoothness of an aeroplane flight" and "a sense of security, of silence." It boasts the car handles varied terrain—"traffic or in the open, up hill or on the level"—with sufficient power that "gears are but seldom needed." The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company (Buffalo, New York) positioned their vehicle as a premium, powerful automobile for affluent consumers. This represents straightforward commercial messaging rather than political commentary or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
swiftness and of rest. In traffic or in the ow Arr When the Dual Valve Six Pierce available up hill or on the level, though they be, the gears are but seldom needed, such is the magicof ample power. open, there is flight. of silence, of the smoothness of an aeroplane There is a sense of security, strikes its natural touring gait, New York Buffalo > a < i) a [e} oO “4 < 1} a4 O° & fe) a 3 fo} 4 [4 $ HE PIERCE comicbooks.com