Life, 1923-01-04 · page 3 of 44
Life — January 4, 1923 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **primarily a 1923 advertisement**, not political satire. The page features an architectural drawing of an industrial building (the Institute of Thermal Research for American Radiator Company in Buffalo, NY) by artist Carl Heck. The "cartoon" element is minimal—just the rhetorical question "What are these chimneys in my life?" This is a copywriting device, not satire. The ad explains that architects specify American Radiator boilers confidently because the company tests them using various chimney configurations, ensuring predictable performance. The pitch emphasizes that higher upfront costs pay dividends through fuel savings. There's no political commentary or social satire here—it's straightforward industrial marketing aimed at architects and homeowners in the heating era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BIN DERX wu mM nay pa ai TheInstituteof Thermal Research | of the American Radiator Company Buffalo, N.Y. The largest laboratory in the world devoted exclusively to the problems of better warmth. May we send you a useful little book entitled “BetTer Warntu & Better HeattH?” It contains ten definite sugges tions for saving coal that are applicable to your home, no matter how it may be heated; and other information that makes it well worth sending for. Your request mailed to either address below will bring a copy at once. ~ From a drawing by Cant Heck © ARCO 1923 “What are these chimneys in my life?”— you ask Aa collection of chimneys, isn’t it? Some big, some little, some tall, some short. But because of them your architect feels perfect con- fidence when he writes “American Radiators” or “IDEAL Boiler” into the specifications for your home. He knows that every new boiler designed by the American Radiator Company is tested by being connected with these chimneys before quantity production begins. By these tests, with varying types of chimneys, the en- gineers of the Company can certify in advance precisely how much warmth a boiler will develop under varying conditions from a given amount of coal. Naturally your architect likesto specify a boilerand radi- ators whose performances are definitely known,eventhough the initial cost may be a trifle more. And you will do wisely to accept his counsel—together with his assurance, and ours, that the trifle more you pay at the start will be returned to you again and again in the fuel saved. AMERICAN RADIATOR COMPANY Iprax Boilers and AMERICAN Radiators fo Radiators for every heating need 816 So. Michigan Ave., Dept.5 104 West 42nd Street, Dept. 5 NEW YORK CHICAGO z comicbooks.com