Life, 1928-08-09 · page 2 of 40
Life — August 9, 1928 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **straightforward advertisement**, not satire. The Ethyl Gasoline Corporation is promoting their product by listing dozens of oil companies that mix and sell ethyl gasoline. The illustration shows a stylized woman in 1920s-era dress standing next to a gas pump bearing the Ethyl logo. The headline "ETHYL is in good company" uses a pun—literally listing prestigious oil company names, while claiming ethyl gasoline provides "maximum efficiency" and eliminates engine knock through "high compression performance." This reflects the historical period when tetraethyl lead was added to gasoline as an anti-knock additive (before its health dangers became widely known). The ad targets car owners seeking better engine performance, not political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
These are the oil companies which mix and sell ETHYL GASOLINE —the motor fuel that knocks out that “knock” and gives high compression performance American Oil Company American Ethyl Anglo-American Oil Co., Led. Pratt's Ethyl Petrol Ashland Refining Com any Red Pepper Better Liby) Associated Oil Company Associated Ethyl Atlantic Refining Company Atlantic Ethyl Beacon Oil Company Colonial Ethyl Continental Oil Company Conoco Ethyl Crystal Oil Refining Cor; me Crystal Ethyl “— Empire Oil Works Empire Ethyl Humble Oil & Refining Co. Humble Ethyl Imperial Oil, Limited Imperial Ethyl Johnson Oil Refining Co. Jobnson Ethyl Kendall Refining Company Kendall Ethyl Liberty Oil Company, Led. Liberty Pep Ethy} Louisiana Oil Refining Corp. Loreco Ethyl Mexican Petroleum Corp. Pan-Am Ethyl A. D. Miller Sons’ Company Miller's Ethyl Pan American Petroleum Co. Pan-Am Ethyl Pennsylvania Refining Co. Penreco Ethyl Pennzoil Compan: Pennzoil Etby Refiners Oil Company Refiners Ethy! Root Refineries, Inc. Red Chief Ethyl Solar Refining Company Solar Ethyl , Spears & Riddle Company a Fleet Wing Ethyl m Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) Red Crown Ethyl Standard Oil Co. (Kentucky) Crown Ethyl Standard Oil Co. of Louisiana Standard Ethyl Standard Oil Co. (Nebraska) Red Crown Ethyl Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey) Standard Ethyl Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) Red Crown Ethyl Sterling Oil Company Sterling Etby Texas Pacific Coal & Oil Co, T.-P. Ethyl Tide Water Oil Company Tydol Ethyl Union Oil Co. of California Union Ethyl Walburn Petroleum Co., Inc. Walburn Ethyl Waverly Oil Works Company Waverly Ethyl In addition there are hundreds of resellers ETHYL is in good company Wau are these companies mixing ETHYL with their already good gasolines? To enable you as a car owner to get maximum efficiency from what- ever car you may be driving. ETHYL GASOLINE CORPORATION 25 Broadway, New York City $6 Church Street, Toronto, Ont.,Can, comicbooks.com