Judge, 1918-01-12 · page 28 of 28
Judge — January 12, 1918 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes Victor's new 542-page music catalog—described as "the world's greatest catalog of music"—claiming 20 years of research and $11 million in development costs. The ad features photographs of what appear to be **famous opera singers and classical musicians** (though specific identities aren't clearly captioned), legitimizing Victor's claims to authoritative taste in music. The Victor Records branded book and the company's dog-and-phonograph logo ("His Master's Voice") reinforce brand authority. The pitch targets **middle-class music lovers**, positioning the catalog as an essential reference book anyone should own. A legal notice warns competitors not to misuse the "Victrola" trademark—suggesting market competition was fierce. This reflects the **pre-radio era** when recorded music catalogs and phonographs were luxury consumer products, and Victor was a dominant brand positioning itself as curator of serious, respectable music.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The world's greatest catalog of music Hein F A book that every music-lover will want It has required 20 years of constant research, of steady application, of tireless effort, and the expenditure of more than Eleven Million Dollars to place this Victor Record catalog in your hands. This great book of 542 pages is the recognized authoritative index to the world’s best music; to the greatest musical achievements of all time. : Its pages are living tributes to the years of unceasing vigil spent in gathering the best music from every portion of the globe. They reflect the hours upon hours which the greatest artists have devoted to recording their superb art for the delight of all generations. They attest to the enormous amount of time and millions of dollars spent in developing the art of recording to its present state of perfection. And through cach and every page runs the story and proof of Victor supremac I c-lover will want a copy of this great Victor catalog of music. Everybody should have this book, whether or not they havea Victrola \ll will appreciate it because of the information about artists, operas and composers, and the numerous portraits and illustra Any Victor dealer will gladly give you a copy of this great catalog of music, or we will mail you a copy free, posta Victor Talking Machine Co.. Camden, N. J.. U.S. A. Berliner Gramophone Co, Montreal, Canadian Distributors Important Notice. Victor Recorts ané or Machines are scien tr and synchronized by our special processes of manufacture, and their one with the other, is absolutely essential to a perfect. Victor reprod New Victor Records demonstrated at all dealers on the Ist of each month Victor Supremacy “Victrola” is the Registered Trade-mark of the Victor Talking Machine Company designa’ the products of this Company Warning: The use of the word Vietrola upon of in the or sale of any g Machine of Phonograph products is misleading and il Fee eee re eeeeators