Life, 1929-06-07 · page 33 of 48
Life — June 7, 1929 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a luxury car advertisement from Life magazine's advertising section (page 31). The content promotes the Lincoln automobile through philosophical copy emphasizing its "sincerity" as a defining quality. The page features three photographs of Lincoln vehicles (a two-window town sedan and interior/exterior views) alongside text arguing that Lincoln's excellence derives from principled construction "without compromise" rather than any single design element. The accompanying caption quotes the makers' goal: "as nearly perfect a motor car as it is possible to produce." This represents typical 1920s-30s prestige advertising strategy: positioning an expensive product as embodying moral virtue and refined craftsmanship rather than mere luxury or performance. The appeal targets affluent, educated readers who would value philosophical substance alongside material status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ae sume oe THERE IS A QUALITY ABOUT IT EASY TO RECOGNIZE, BUT DIFFICULT TO DEFINE Wuen you see a Lincoln gliding along the avenue, or standing at rest before a well-known door, you may sense in it a quality which sets it apart, a little, in your mind—a quality which causes you to re- member it, and recall its image, long after the more immediate con- cerns of the day are disposed of and forgotten. That quality is not easy to define. You might look for it in the grace and balance of the car, its comfort, its smooth and effortless perform- ance. You might see it in the basic design and engineering, or the re- strained elegance of its appoint- 5 ments. ... But as a matter of fact, | © : en ane Bi belles Tomn it is from all these things collec- 7 f mews om ol pet a tively that the Lincoln derives its commodious yet smart, It is character. And the key-note of that q = aor pate fern oan fer character is sincerity. Sincerity. In this one word is summed up the whole principle of Lincoln construction. To build an automobile without compromise, without concession, in accordance with the highest ideals of efficacy and beauty . . . that is the wish of the makers of the Lincoln . . . “as nearly perfect a motor car as it is - possible to produce.” “AS NEARLY PERFECT A MOTOR CAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE” THE LINCOLN gee egg comicbooks.com