Life, 1913-02-27 · page 40 of 40
Life — February 27, 1913 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **primarily a full-page advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Columbia Grafonola (an early phonograph/record player) from the Graphophone Company, dated February 27, 1913. The ad's main selling points: electric motor (no hand-winding), automatic stop, superior sound quality. Price range: $50-$500. The bottom section displays headshots of famous opera singers and performers of the era—including names like Destinn, Bonci, Nordica, Gården, Slezak, Zenatello, Nielsen, Pasquale, Bispham, White, Gay, Cavallieri, and Harrold—suggesting Columbia records feature world-class musical talent. An "Important Notice" states Columbia records play on Victor machines and vice versa, indicating competitive compatibility between the two leading phonograph manufacturers. This is essentially a luxury consumer product advertisement targeting middle-to-upper-class households, not political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
February 27. 1913 all the a | Sal heWerd The Columbia Grafonola is the One incomparable instrument of music. This new Columbia “Grand” has made the very words “talking machine” obsolete. Its tone is be- yond compare. No winding—it runs by electric motor. It stops automatically at the end of each record. Ask your dealer for the Book of the Columbia “Grand” —or write us. Columbia Grafonolas now range from $50 to $500. Catalogs on request. Important Notice All Columbia records can be 1 Vi Iki hines. Colum bia Gran d S45 00 | Eiken Columbia insramens Grafonola will play Victor records. comicbooks.com