Life, 1929-01-18 · page 3 of 44
Life — January 18, 1929 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **luxury car advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes the Cadillac La Salle automobile as "a distinguished symbol of social prestige." The illustration depicts elegantly dressed figures in formal attire—a man in a tuxedo and woman in an evening gown—examining the vehicle at what appears to be a high-society event. Onlookers in the background suggest exclusivity and status. The text's core message: owning a La Salle demonstrates wealth and refined taste. It claims the car is found wherever "smartest people congregate" and that anyone serious about motor cars must consider it. Prices range from $2,295 to $2,875 (significant sums in 1929). This reflects pre-Depression advertising targeting the wealthy, emphasizing automobile ownership as a status symbol.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
of Distin guished Symbol of Social Lrestige You have only to pause where the smartest people congregate, you have only to check the social register, and you will inevitably discover a preponderance of Cadillacs and La Salles ..¢ The simple, bald fact about this is that men and women who know motor cars know too that if they want to ride and drive as Cadillac-La Salle ride and drive they must eliminate every other car from consideration . . ¢ For the truth of all truths about Cadillac-LaSalle—and something that you know full well—is just this: it is because of inherent and surpassing excellence that there is no substitute for the priceless possession and prestige ofa Cadillacebuilt car. . ¢ De luxe Fisher and Fleetwood coachwork render La Salle—with the single exception of Cadillac itself—the most luxurious motoring in the world .. ¢ LaSalle is priced from $2295 to $2875 f.0.b. Detroit. Cadillac-La Salle dealers welcome business on the General Motors Deferred Payment Plan. CADILLAC MOTOR CAR COMPANY Division of General Motors Detroit, Michigan + Oshawa, Canada comicbooks.com