Life, 1920-09-16 · page 37 of 44
Life — September 16, 1920 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **advertisement** for United States Rubber Company's pneumatic truck tires, appearing in Life magazine (page 513). The page features an illustration of an early truck with a prominent pneumatic tire and a driver. The ad claims U.S. Rubber invented the first pneumatic truck tire in 1911, positioning the company as visionary and service-focused rather than sales-driven. The rhetoric emphasizes anticipating customer needs *before* markets develop, and distinguishes between "building tires for tire users" versus "building them for sale"—implying moral superiority through user-centered design over mere profit-seeking. For modern readers: this represents early 20th-century corporate messaging that conflates innovation with altruism, a familiar advertising strategy still used today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Why the F/RST PNEUMATIC TRUCK TIRE was U-S: 'HE United States Rubber Company in 1911 gave to the public the first Pneu- matic Truck Tire ever built in the world, because of its unbounded faith in the future of motor truck transportation. It built it because of its traditional policy of looking into the future—of trying to antici- pate the needs of all kinds and conditions of truck tire users and building tires to meet them. Before the tire users themselves become fully conscious of their needs. Before a new tire market is even devel- oped. * * * Here are the problems which the United States Rubber Company undertook to solve when it began work on a Pneumatic Tire for motor trucks: How to increase tire mileage —to lengthen tire life—to give the truck owner greater tire economy. * * * There is a difference between building tires for tire users and building them for sale. The United States Rubber Company has never allowed the question of sales to influ- ence its ideals of service. LS. Pneumatic Truck Ti res Mnited States @ Rubber Company t and largest Rubber'6 ‘Gcaoniation tn the World nie fee fer Teanches comicbooks.com