Life — December 4, 1913 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a **Columbia Grafonola advertisement**, not political satire. The page features a young boy in formal attire (suit and dress shoes) posed with an enthusiastic expression next to four gramophone models at different price points: "De Luxe" ($200), "Eclipse" ($25), "Favorite" ($50), and "Jewel" ($35). The ad's pitch—"Say Pop! we just gotta have a Columbia Grafonola this Christmas"—uses the boy character to appeal to parents by suggesting the gift will provide year-round family entertainment at modest cost. The only notable element is the outdated gender presentation: the advertiser uses a boy (not girl) as the aspirational consumer, reflecting early 20th-century marketing assumptions. The Columbia Graphophone Company logo appears at bottom.