I am attaching a picture of what the air filter element on my 1953 Chevy Pickup Truck looked like. Except that I believe mine was stainless steel instead of copper.
You cleaned the mesh in gasoline or paint thinner and let that evaorate then you dipped it in 40 Wt Oil or even differential lube if you wanted to.
In theory as the air twists and turns through the maze the dirt particles impact into the oiled mesh and stuck there.
The K&N filters work on that same theory of flittering except that the mesh is not as course and is made of cotton instead of metal.
After I also bought a Dodge Car I found out the paper element filter for that fit the Chevy housing and I used that after removing the metal mesh filter.
Here is a place that sells replacement copper mesh.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/7911/Chevrolet_Air_Filter_Copper_Mesh_Only.html
My fist car was a 1954 Cadillac. This is the air filter that was on it.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/43334/Chrome_Air_Cleaner_Olds_Cadillac_Steel_Style.html
It was a type of oil bat air filter in which the oil level came part way into the steel mesh and the air flow sort of partially bubbled the oil washing off and dirt on the mesh.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/43334/Chrome_Air_Cleaner_Olds_Cadillac_Steel_Style.html