1917 Exide Battery "For Your Car" Vintage Advertisement
Founded in 1888 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Electric Storage Battery Company established itself as a pioneer in power storage. By 1917, the automotive landscape was undergoing a massive shift: the dangerous and physically demanding hand-crank starters were being rapidly replaced by electric starting and lighting systems. This August 1917 advertisement for the "Exide" Battery captures this technological tipping point perfectly, positioning the brand not just as an accessory, but as the pulsating heart of the modern automobile. The visual strategy is intensely psychological. The central figure is an imposing, bare-chested man draped in an animal pelt, exuding primitive strength and raw power. He points directly at the viewer—a confrontational visual motif highly popularized during WWI
Category: Automotive Parts
Year: 1917
Rarity Class: A
Paper & Print Condition
The artifact exhibits characteristic age-toning (foxing and uniform yellowing) typical of century-old wood-pulp publication stock. Close examination reveals a pronounced, coarse halftone dot structure, indicative of standard mass-publication letterpress printing techniques of the late 1910s. While minor edge wear and slight micro-tears are present along the margins, the structural integrity remains robust, and these superficial imperfections do not detract from the striking central graphic and c
Provenance & Rarity
Dated August 23, 1917. This piece holds significant provenance as it originates from the height of World War I, capturing a pivotal moment in American industrial history. Advertisements from this specific period that explicitly link consumer automotive technology to active military apparatus—specifically U.S. Navy submarines—are historically vital. Surviving examples featuring this level of bold, psychological illustration, which breaks the fourth wall to confront the viewer, are increasingly ra
Rarity & Condition Summary
Classified as a Class A artifact, this piece is highly preserved. Its structural integrity, combined with the clarity of its bold illustrative elements and WWI-era messaging, makes it a museum-quality document representing the dawn of modern automotive electrical systems.
