Life, 1915-03-04 · page 48 of 48
Life — March 4, 1915 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **full-page advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Columbia Grafonola—an early gramophone/phonograph device for home music playback. The illustration depicts a fashionable early-20th-century social gathering: well-dressed guests in an elegant interior enjoy music from the Columbia machine, positioned as essential for "every musical occasion" from informal home dances to "pretentious social events." The ad emphasizes the device's "superb tone-quality" and exclusive "tone-control" features as markers of superiority. It stresses there are 8,500 authorized dealers and notes that Columbia records play on any standard phonograph—a competitive selling point in the nascent recording industry. The decorative theatrical masks and period styling reflect the machine's association with cultured entertainment and refined home life—aspirational marketing for an emerging consumer technology. This is straightforward product advertising, not satirical commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
March 4, 1915 FOR every musical occasion, for entertainments or informal dances at home, or for more pretentious social events, the Columbia Grafonola is the one ideal musical instrument. Its superb tone-quality, so vividly true, natural and rounded, and its perfect and exclusive control of tone-volume, are two distinguishing features that have established the Columbia as the finest musical achievement. . There are 8,500 Columbia dealers. Be sure your dealer shows you a Columbia Grafonola. You can be sure it is a Columbia by looking for the exclusive Columbia tone-control leaves. IMPORTANT NOTICE: All Columbia Records can be played on your disc talking machine (if any standard make) Columbia Chen Cole oaee as illustrated with GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY, Box C270, Woolworth Building, New York Win ordinsry Record Racks, 2 TORONTO: 365-367 Sorauren Avenue Other Models, $17. Dealers wanted where we are not actively represented. Write for particulars. Prices in Canada Plus Duty. Comiclbooksxeom