Life, 1926-06-24 · page 39 of 41
Life — June 24, 1926 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising copy**, not political satire. It's a full-page advertisement for Elco Cruisers (motor boats) from the 1920s era. The page features an illustrated luxury motorboat with passengers aboard, sailing through choppy waters. The headline "The finest sport of all—yet one too few enjoy" frames boat ownership as aspirational but attainable. The advertisement's central pitch addresses a key barrier to purchase: **cost**. It emphasizes that operating an Elco Cruiser is "unusually low"—a thousand-mile cruise costs only seventy-five dollars. This appeals to middle-class readers by making luxury seem accessible through mass production and "standardized method of construction." The social context: This reflects 1920s prosperity and the democratization of leisure goods. Boat ownership isn't presented as exclusively wealthy; it's marketed to ordinary people who might afford it. Contact information and distributors (Miami, New York, New Jersey, California) suggest national reach. No political figures or satire are present—this is straightforward consumer marketing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IF = yet one OME and cruise over cool, blue waters this summer and enjoy one of the greatest pleasures of life. Joyous days afloat... exhilarat- ing breezes... rest and pri- vacy ... new thrills and adven- tures. All of these are yours when you own an Elco Cruiser. Perhaps you have thought of motor cruising as something be- yond your means. Asa matter of act, the cost of operating an Elco Cruiser is unusually low. On sev models the total expendi- ture for a thousand mile cruise PORT ELCO—247 Park Sales Office Miami Distributor CLEMENT AMORY 118 North Bay Shore Drive M * st a Il fin foo Tes enjoy The Elco Works, Bayonne, N. J. Builders of Motor Boats for 34 Years —as shown by owners’ logs— does not exceed seventy-five dollars. On account of quantity produc- tionand thestandardized method of construction, we can furnish you with an Elco Cruiser—a real home afloat—at a price surpris- ingly low. Start planning now for a glori- ous season afloat. Inspect the latest Elco models now on dis- play at our New York Exhibit or write for Catalogue L, which gives full details regarding speci- fications and prices. venue, at 46th Street-—New York City manent Motor Boat Exhibit HOWARD M 6187 H Los / \ —<—Va comicbooks.com