Life, 1921-05-19 · page 2 of 36
Life — May 19, 1921 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Michelin Tire Company advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes Michelin's superior rubber compound that resists brittleness and porousness with age. The central claim: Michelin tubes outlast competitors. The advertisement describes an actual test where half a Michelin tube was cemented to half a tube from "another make," then run until failure. The other sections wore out completely while the Michelin portion remained serviceable. The cartoon illustration shows the **Michelin Man** (the company's mascot, a rotund figure made of tire rings) presenting this evidence to onlookers. The dark photograph on the right appears to show the test results—the comparative wear patterns of the tubes. The message: Michelin tubes cost no more than ordinary brands but last significantly longer, making them superior value.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
cu GRARLES DAMA CrBson. Presiden canpany st 1? Wen Sst Street. New ceonte ie RICHARDSON. Vices Cemrettausl Surscriion, Larovstiturn, Tres 6 ein, BF MICHELIN ‘ANY years ago the Michelin Tire Company discovered a compound- ing process which prevents rubber from becoming brittle or porous with age. The superior durability which this process imparts to Michelin Tubes is evidenced by the photograph repro- duced below. Each of the tubes illus- trated was made by cementing half a Michelin Tube to half of a tube of an- In addition to being made of su- perior rubber, Michelin Tubes are ring-shaped like the tire itself, a supreme advantage over straight tubes, as almost everyone knows. Michelin Tire Co., Milltown, N. J. Other factories: Clermont-Ferrand, France; London, England; Turin, Italy Dealers Everywhere | { \ other make. These composite tubes were then run to destruction in actual service. Notice that when all the other sections ‘were worn out, the Michelin sections were still serviceable, This test has been repeated many times, always with the same results - - - con- clusive evidence that Michelin Tubes do last longer, though they cost no more than many ordinary makes, comicbooks.com