Life, 1928-05-03 · page 3 of 46
Life — May 3, 1928 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **car advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The Essex Super-Six was marketed as "World's Greatest Value for All the Family." The imagery shows a family enjoying outdoor recreation—camping or picnicking—enabled by automobile ownership. The circular vignette depicts idealized leisure activities: parents and children in nature, suggesting the car provides both practical transportation and access to family experiences. The ad emphasizes quality features (upholstery, construction, steering mechanism) appealing to middle-class buyers concerned with durability and comfort. Pricing ranges from $735-$795, positioning it as an affordable family vehicle during what appears to be the 1920s automotive boom period. The "greatest value" messaging reflects post-WWI American consumer culture emphasizing accessible luxury and family-centered leisure.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
L ife pate 1 st Value or All the amily The Essex 4-Door Sedan In the way women by thousands are turning to Essex is a story of the great and dynamic “man’s Super-Six” made beautiful for women, roomy and comfortable for all the family. You sit upon high-back, form-fitting seats upholstered in material that tells its quality to sight and to the touch. The winged radiator figure leads the eye out over a shining rhythm of cowl, hood, polished saddle type lamps and graceful arching fenders to the smoothly flying highroad. You have before you every control in their most natural and handy place. And all about you, the pancling, the weather-stripped doors, the silenced dy construction, the floor-matting and the hard- ware in graceful silvery patterns speak quietly and certainly of quality. In these and such things as the black rubber, steel- core, finger-scalloped steering wheel, carrying light, horn and throttle controls, the worm and tooth disc steering mechanism and the vertical radiator shutters, Essex visibly duplicates costly car practice, as it does also in the hidden things you never see. 4-Door Sedan, $795; Coupe, $745 (Rumble Seat $30 extra); Coach, $735 All prices f. 0. b. Detroit, plus war excise tax ESSEX SIX SUPER comicbooks.com