Life — October 6, 1927 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Ethyl Gasoline Advertisement This is **not satire or a political cartoon**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Ethyl Gasoline from the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation (25 Broadway, New York City). The ad promotes the benefits of ethyl-based fuel for automobiles, claiming it enables "high compression" engines with increased speed, power, acceleration, and elimination of engine "knock" (a combustion problem). The text emphasizes that ethyl gasoline made true high-compression cars finally possible. The ad appeared in *Life* magazine during the 1920s-1930s when ethyl fuel was a new automotive innovation. It's a period advertisement reflecting contemporary enthusiasm for automotive technological advancement, not editorial content or satire.