Life, 1921-01-06 · page 42 of 44
Life — January 6, 1921 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **straightforward advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The Raybestos Company promotes its brake lining product through a full-page ad in *Life* magazine. The visual centerpiece is a stylized illustration of a brake drum—the cylindrical component of automotive braking systems—rendered in bold Art Deco typography spelling "Raybestos." The drum's layered cross-section emphasizes durability and industrial construction. The advertisement's repetitive emphasis on "WEAR"—appearing five times—drives home the product's durability claim: brake lining that maintains performance over time. The accompanying text reinforces that Raybestos lining is "built...like a strip of iron" and "treated to insure" longevity, positioning durability as the key consumer concern. This reflects early automotive-era marketing, when brake reliability was genuinely important to vehicle safety and lifespan. The ad lists factories and branches across North America, indicating Raybestos's established market presence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Built to WEAR! Will WEAR © Guaranteed to WEAR ! When you buy brake lining you want just one thing— long, sturdy WEAR. Lin- ing that does not WEAR well is a loss at any cost. Raybestos is builtto WEAR like a strip of iron. Raybes- tos, all the way through, is treated to insure Raybestos WEAR. The next time you buy brake lining—ask = M for Raybestos. NS THE RAYBESTOS. COMPANY Factories: BRIDGEPORT, CONN. PETERBOROUGH, CANADA. Branches: Detroit, 979 Woodward Avenue San Francisco, 1403 Chronicle Building hicago, 1402 South Michigan Avenue - Washington, D..C., 107 Columbian Building — «Sala comicbooks.com