Life, 1904-06-16 · page 21 of 22
Life — June 16, 1904 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **three advertisements**, not political cartoons or satire. The **left side** promotes Canadian Pacific Railway's new transcontinental service (June 1904) and the Delaware & Hudson Railway's route to Lake Placid and Adirondack resorts—typical transportation advertising of the era. The **right side** features the Cecilian player piano. The illustration shows a woman at a piano with sheet music, accompanying advertising copy that appeals to nostalgia and leisure. The ad emphasizes how the Cecilian—a mechanical device that plays pre-recorded music rolls—allows anyone to produce music without skill. At $250 (distributed in monthly payments), it promised access to an "immense repertoire." This was cutting-edge consumer technology in 1904, representing the era's fascination with mechanical automation and home entertainment. The "Wandering in Dreamland" tagline captures the romantic appeal: owning a player piano meant affordable access to classical music and popular songs in one's home.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CANADIAN Paeirie Raitway TWO THROUCH TRAINS Each Way---Every Day BETWEEN MONTREAL . TORONTO AND VANCOUVER Commencing JUNE (3th, 1904 The Imperial Limited Vestbound and Eastbound, The Pacific Express Westbound. The Atlantic Express Eastbound. E. V. SKINNER, Assistant Traffic Manager 458 Broadway, New York 29 The Delaware & Hudson New Standard Route between New York and Lake Placid DAY AND NIGHT PULLMAN CARS WITHOUT CHANGE, VIA SARATOGA, SKIRTING THE WEST SHORE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, LAKE GEORGE, AUSABLE CHASM, HOTEL CHAMPLAIN, LAKE CHAMPLAIN, SHARON SPRINGS, COOPERSTOWN, AND ALL ADIRON- DACK RESORTS. SHORTEST, QUICKEST AND BEST LINE BETWEEN NEW YORK AND MONTREAL. Mlustrated guide to the Northern resorts sent on receipt of ¢ cents postage. J. W. Burdick, General Passenger Agent, Albany, N. Y. New York City Information and Ticket Offices, 2r Cortlandt Street. &~ at the piano (when you happen to be in just the right mood, you know), and make it sing for you ‘some old sweet melody that you heard years ago, or perhapsa bit from an opera, which recalls many pleasant memories, or possibly a certain lively cake walk or coon connected with the | re you often wished that you could sit down song, or dance, which is inseparab recollections of bygone happy da There may be no “Royal Road to Learning,” but, thanks to modern inventive ability, there is a “ Royal Road” to music, and with a Cecilian attached to your piano your wish comes true, and you can * Wander in Dreamland " whenever you please. The Cecilian can be attached to any piano and played by any person. It has an immense repertoire of music and the rolls cost less than any others. The price of the lian is $250, and this amount can be distributed over a number of small monthly payments, if you so desire. There are a number of features which make the Cecilian the most artistic as well as the most prac- tical player manufactured. Our booklet is very interesting and we'd like to send it to you. May we? FARRAND ORGAN COMPANY, bDept. L. ~ London, England. Detroit, Mich. comicbooks.com