Life, 1920-12-23 · page 37 of 44
Life — December 23, 1920 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **car advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page promotes Lafayette automobiles manufactured in Indianapolis. The ad argues that Lafayette owners are typically wealthy, discerning people with refined taste who compare cars only to other "high repute" vehicles. The accompanying photograph shows a Lafayette automobile parked on a tree-lined road. The advertisement's strategy is aspirational: it claims Lafayette has earned praise even from this elite, hard-to-impress audience—suggesting that owning one signals refined judgment. The implied message to readers is that purchasing a Lafayette will associate them with this distinguished ownership class. There is **no satire or political content** here—this is straightforward luxury car marketing from the early automobile era, appealing to status-conscious consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
In the main, those who have acquired title to LaFayerre have enjoyed long associa- tion with other cars of high repute. They have always assumed high standards of reliability and service. They have expected smooth running mech- anisms, powerful engines and senior workmanship. It must be rare excellence, indeed, that should evoke from such an audience more than the common meed of praise. FAYETTE MOTORS COMPA Yet LaFayette has done this thing. In no uncertain terms these men have paid tribute to the car. In their comparisons they have mentioned only cars of very highest rank. We should therefore be overmodest not to admit much pleasure that our work has been so approved. Such approval gives us confidence that the day will come when you also will want to own a LaFayerre. ANY at Oilers Hill Inpianarou LAFAYETTE comicbooks.com