Life, 1916-02-17 · page 6 of 52
Life — February 17, 1916 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Victor Records advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes phonograph records and the "His Master's Voice" gramophone player. The image depicts operatic or theatrical figures in period costumes gathered around a phonograph, symbolizing that Victor Records capture "the master interpretations of the world's greatest artists." The text emphasizes that Victor Records preserve famous singers, instrumentalists, and orchestras "exactly as they interpret them." The advertisement targets affluent consumers interested in classical music and opera, claiming Victor offers over 5,000 recordings. It's a straightforward commercial pitch emphasizing the technology's ability to reproduce live performances, not satirical commentary. The page represents early 20th-century marketing in *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| WH 1) ‘OKe master interpretations of the worlds greatest artrsts Victor Records are the consummate art of the greatest singers, instrumentalists, bands, orchestras—their own superb renditions exactly as they interpret them. All the distinctive personality, all the individuality of expression, all the beauties peculiar to the performance of each artist, are ever present to charm you in their Victor Records. Victor Records are the actual artists—the greatest artists of all the world. The greatest artists at their very best. The greatest artists just as you want to hear them. There are Victor dealers in every city in the world who will gladly give you a complete catalog of the more than 5000 Victor Records and play any music you wish to hear. Always use Victor Machines with Y/ Victor Talking Machine Co. Victor Records and Victor Needles =the combination. There is no / \ Camden, N. J., U.S. A. other way to get the unequaled Victor tone. Berliner Gramophone Co., Montreal Canadian Distributors comicbooks.com