Life, 1911-05-11 · page 6 of 44
Life — May 11, 1911 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not a satirical cartoon or political content. It advertises the **Steinway Pianola Piano**—a player piano manufactured by The Aeolian Company. The illustration shows an elegant drawing room scene with well-dressed figures in the background, establishing aspirational social status. A potted plant and decorative chair accompany the prominent piano display. The ad's appeal is **social and artistic**: it promises buyers the satisfaction of producing music themselves while enjoying "the world's best music," comparing the player piano's quality favorably to amateur performance. Pricing ranges from $550 to $2,000 (substantial sums in this era). This represents early 20th-century marketing targeting affluent households seeking both musical sophistication and leisure entertainment technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
i To the superb quality.of the Steinway Piano, there is added in this wonderful, new instrument, the ability of a virtuoso to play it SIHE PIANOLA endows you, not only with this ability, but #4 the intense satisfaction of personally producing music with a 4 nicety of expression that fits exactly your mood of the moment. To the discriminating music-lover all of the world’s best music is made available by the Steinway Pianola Piano While the quality of tone is essential to good music, the The Steinway Grand Pianola Piano $2,000 up. measure of your enjoyment must always be fundamen- . . . A tally dependent upon the ability to produce it. The Steinway Pianola Piano (Upright) $1,250 up. The degree of artistic excellence of the music produced Other Pianola Pianos from $550 up. Prices slightly by the Pianola, is as superior in its quality to that of other higher on the Pacific Coast. Information onsite. player-pianos, as is the performance of Paderewski when May be purchased on monthly payments if desired. compared with that of an indifferent amateur. Allowances made on other pianos taken in exchange. STEINWAY PIANOLA PIANO BOOK L A most artistic piece of printing—well worth reading and keeping. Size 9xI2inches. Sent postpaid on request. The teolian Company Maintains Its Own Establishments in the Following Cities: CHICAGO, ILL. ST. LOUIS, MO. CINCINNATI ©. INDIANAPOLIS, IND. DAYTON, ©. 202 Michigan Boulevard 1004 Olive Street 124 East 4th Street 237 N. Pennsylvania Street 131 W, 3d Steet Representatives in all the Principal Cities of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Abroad THE AEOLIAN COMPANY, Aeolian Hall, 362 Fifth Avenue Near 34th Street, N. Y. The Largest Manufacturers of Musical Instruments in the World om comicbooks.com