Life, 1920-03-18 · page 4 of 54
Life — March 18, 1920 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a straightforward **automobile advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The page promotes the Mercer car, manufactured by Mercer Motors Company and sold by Hare's Motors in New York City. The ad emphasizes practical buyer benefits: medium weight, low operating costs, high resale value, safety, power, reliability, and simple maintenance with affordable repairs. The tagline "WE SHALL KEEP FAITH" suggests trustworthiness. The decorative illustration shows the Mercer touring car in an elegant garden setting with classical statuary, appealing to affluent buyers. This aspirational imagery—pairing the automobile with refined aesthetic surroundings—was typical of early automotive marketing, positioning car ownership as a mark of sophistication and good taste.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What the Mercer buyer. gets for his investment A car of medium weight— A car of relatively low operating cost— A car of exceptionally high resale value— A car that is as safe as automobiles can be made— The Meicee is a pi ct of Hare’s Motors and is built and sold upon the sound pr for which that institution stands. MERCER MOTORS COMPANY HARE'’S MOTORS 16 West 6ist Street New York City WE: SHALL: KEEP: FAITH comicbooks.com