Life, 1920-04-15 · page 31 of 44
Life — April 15, 1920 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **primarily an automobile advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It's a full-page ad for the Lafayette Motors Company (located in Mars Hill, Indianapolis) from what appears to be an early 20th-century issue of Life magazine. The ad uses aspirational marketing language, suggesting that owning a Lafayette represents the culmination of "engineering skill" and refinement. It appeals to readers who've owned "fine automobiles" or "better motor cars," implying Lafayette ownership marks arrival in an elite automotive circle. The circular photograph shows a Lafayette automobile in an outdoor setting. The portrait medallion at bottom depicts the Marquis de Lafayette—the ad uses the historical French Revolutionary figure's name and prestige to brand the car as sophisticated and distinguished. There is no satire or political commentary present. This is straightforward luxury-car advertising from the early automotive era, targeting wealthy, educated consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IF YOU have been schooled in the ownership of fine automobiles, you have long known that engineering skill would some day culminate in a car like LaFayerte. That you would recognize it at once you knew intuitively, for it would possess certain intrinsic refinements which have often occurred to you vaguely and almost subconsciously in conjunction with your own car, Mentally you endowed it with such pliant power and ease of motion as could be evolved only by the expert engineering proficiency this car enjoys. Those whose association with splen- did cars has quickened their appreci- ation have been wholly won by their first sight of LaFaverre. In their eagerness for ownership they formed priority lists in many cities even Belore a price announcement had been made. If you have owned one of the better motor cars and driven it a reasonably Jong time, it is not improbable that you, also, may want a LaFayerre. comicbooks.com