Life — November 25, 1920 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily a **U.S. Rubber Company advertisement**, not political satire. The illustration shows two enormous pneumatic truck tires flanking an industrial cityscape. The ad addresses a practical business question: whether pneumatic (air-filled) truck tires are economical. The company argues they developed these tires specifically for trucking demands—not simply enlarged passenger-car tires. The text emphasizes U.S. Rubber's philosophy of building better products before seeking market expansion. The visual metaphor is straightforward: the massive tires dwarf the city, emphasizing their superior scale and engineering. This is commercial persuasion rather than satire—appealing to trucking companies' concerns about tire durability and cost-effectiveness during an era when motor freight was becoming increasingly important to American commerce.