Life — October 7, 1920 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It's a full-page advertisement for Raybestos brake lining, a genuine automotive product from The Raybestos Company (factories in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Peterborough, Canada). The visual humor is commercial rather than satirical: a stylized pile of automobile tires with decorative text reading "Roulette" and "Brake Lining" curves around it. The pun suggests buying inferior brake lining is like gambling with your safety—hence the roulette imagery. The copy emphasizes durability ("built to WEAR like a strip of iron") and offers a one-year wear guarantee, positioning Raybestos as the reliable choice versus cheaper alternatives. This is straightforward product advertising typical of early 20th-century *Life* magazine.