Life, 1924-02-21 · page 35 of 36
Life — February 21, 1924 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not satire or political commentary**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement. The page uses the Lincoln automobile statue in Chicago's Lincoln Park as visual branding, juxtaposing Abraham Lincoln's monument with a Lincoln Motor Company vehicle below. The ad's rhetoric draws a parallel between Lincoln the president's "stalwart qualities of character" and the car's engineering excellence. By naming the vehicle after Lincoln and positioning it beneath his statue, the company associates its product with American values: integrity, sound principles, and masterful craftsmanship. The "masterpiece" framing suggests the car achieves artistic perfection through engineering discipline—it's built on fundamentally sound design, not frivolous styling. This was typical early automotive advertising that emphasized mechanical virtue rather than luxury or style.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MASTERPIECES HOSE stalwart qualities of character which distinguish the leader are not ag delinea: attained easily, nor by chance. Only te nobility through faithful adherence to lofty principles can they be acquired. The Lincoln car is universally recognized today as worthy of its honored name because each step in designing it and in building it has been taken in strict conformity to the tenets of correct engineering, masterly workmanship and good taste. The refinements for which it is notable have been developed from a basic structure fundamentally sound. It stands four- square, a recognized masterpiece. LINCOLN MOTOR COMPANY ce RC LINCOLN comicbooks.com