Judge, 1915-12-11 · page 28 of 28
Judge — December 11, 1915 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Columbia Grafonolas (early phonographs/record players), likely from the 1910s-1920s based on the design and technology described. The page appears in *Judge* magazine simply as paid advertising. It promotes three features of Columbia's gramophone model as ideal Christmas gifts: superior **tone** quality (emphasizing the scientific precision of the reproducer mechanism), **tone control** (allowing volume adjustment from soft to loud), and **convenience** (individual record storage in velvet slots with push-button selection). The silhouetted product image shows the ornate wooden cabinet typical of period phonographs. The ad uses aspirational language about "musical quality" and "artistic achievement" to position the expensive device as a luxury purchase. There is no political commentary, caricature, or satirical content on this page—it's a commercial message placed within an entertainment publication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The three vital features Christmas Grafonola For, of course, your new instrument will be a Columbia, if it is a question of musical quality—of certainty of lastin enjoyment. Judge the superiority of the Columbia Grafonola, first of all, upon its superb tone. Tone. Tone is the soul of music. And tone perfection depends fully as much upon the scien ss of the reproducing n of the instrument itself as upon the original recording pros perfectes reproducer 1 tone-arm of the Columbia » crowning achievement in this branch of the art. The tone is carried from the repro- ducer needle to the end of the chamber through one continuous uninterrupted and ever-expan say Once you alize the tone possil jes of the Columbia Grafonola, playing Columbia ‘ords or we believe you will never again be satisfied with any tone les | and true, less brilliant and round and natural, Tone control — a sons the Columbia you have every possible gradati at your POOOOTSOS cc stand The tone-control leaves. built on the R inciple of controlling tone and the wide variety of mn wwailable, give you any and es of tone-volume, from the lightest pianissimo to the resounding fortissimo to fill the large auditorium Convenience Your Grafonola, equipped with the individual record ejec exclusive Columbia feature, is ideal in its ¢ nience. Your record racked individually in velvet-lined slots that automatically clean them protect them against breaking and scratching. A numbered push-button controls each record—a push of the button brings any record forward to be taken between the thumt fingers COLUMBI Graphophone Company Box L-445 Woolworth Bldg., N.