Life, 1899-12-02 · page 42 of 44
Life — December 2, 1899 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertisement for the Gram-o-phone** (an early phonograph), not political satire. The page uses humor to promote the product as a luxury Christmas gift. The cartoon above shows two wealthy women viewed from behind, wearing elaborate feathered hats and full skirts. The captions read "What a short waist, as seen from behind, eft" and "Such is not the case." This is fashion humor—satirizing the silhouette created by corsetry and padding of the Edwardian era, where women's rear ends appear exaggerated from behind but are actually shaped artificially. The advertisement leverages endorsements from Thomas J. Lipton (Irish businessman, visible name association) and Columbia/Herreshoff manufacturers to tout the Gram-o-phone as superior to competitors, emphasizing its use of "flat, signed, indestructible records." The satire is gentle and commercial: using fashionable women and humor to sell a new consumer technology to wealthy households as an impressive entertainment investment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT OWNER OF THE SHAMROCK WRITES: “The Gram-o-phone has been a source of great pleasure and amusement to my guests and myself.’ Tuomas J. Lipton. BUILDERS OF THE COLUMBIA WRITE: “In our opinion the Gram-o-phone has no equal as a talking machine.” Herresuorr Mrc. Co. What could be more desirable for a Christmas Present? NATIONAL GRAM-O-PHONE CORP. For Sale Everywhere Broadway, Cor. 18th St., New York ONLY MACHINE USING FLAT, SIGNED, INDESTRUCTIBLE RECORDS GRAM-0-PHONE RECORD