Life — May 6, 1920 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# A Peddler's Son: Early Automobile Advertisement This page features an advertisement for an early automobile, presented as satirical editorial content typical of *Life* magazine's style. The illustration shows a vintage car from approximately the 1910s-1920s era, depicted rotated 90 degrees on the page. The headline "A Peddler's Son" plays on social climbing—suggesting that someone of humble origins (a peddler's child) could now afford this modern luxury vehicle. The accompanying text highlights the car's features and benefits, emphasizing how automobiles represented newfound mobility and status for middle-class Americans. This reflects the era's fascination with automobiles as both practical transportation and status symbols, while *Life*'s satirical framing gently mocks the aspirational consumerism driving early car sales.