Life, 1916-03-02 · page 2 of 44
Life — March 2, 1916 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not satire or political commentary. It's a full-page advertisement for the Aeolian-Vocalion phonograph (Model K, priced at $300). The ad uses a narrative frame: a customer describes visiting a music store and hearing "Annie Laurie" played on the device. The text emphasizes the phonograph's superior sound quality—claiming the reproduction is so realistic the customer couldn't distinguish it from live singing. The decorative elements (the record illustration, period artwork) and the Scottish song reference were common marketing tactics to suggest cultural refinement and emotional authenticity. The ad targets affluent buyers by emphasizing the machine's ability to faithfully reproduce professional vocal performances in the home. This represents early phonograph marketing strategy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y..2s Second Class Mail Master.” [Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office Department, Canada. ‘Thurstay. Annual Sobscrigticn Sore ‘Copyright i England and the Brith Possessions. every Five Dollars. Single Copies, Tea Price la England, Sixpence. find for Bonnie/lanie Laurie F } Ld layme Doun and Dee") aE MODEL K $300 that afternoon I sang ‘Annie Laurie’—noi with my own voice, but with my own feeling!” The AEOLIAN-VOCALION “THE PHONOGRAPIL OF RICHER TONE THAT YOU CAN PLAY” “TY had stopped for a moment ina music-wareroom and on my journey to the door I paused. “Some one was singing ‘Annie Laurie’ behind me, with such a wealth of beauty and expression that I turned. I was listening, not to a human beingas I thought, but to a new phonograph that I had never heard before —the Aeolian-Vocalion, “That was a wonderful experi- ence. I was listening to a song whose simple melody is so familiar that naught but the most exquisite voice could stir one with it. And I was stirred to the very depths of my being. So rich, so full of color were the notes that sounded forth that I had never dreamed a phono- gtaph could voice them. “And so I asked to hear more, but with a smile, the demonstrator inquired —Would I not like to sing “Annie Laurie’ myself, first ? “And then a miracle of music happened. He handed me what he called the ‘Graduola’ which was attached to this wonderful phono- graph. Heshowed me how, by press- ing it, I could melt the tones away to the faintest whisper, or swell them forth to strong, full-throated power. “So, I, who never sang before, sang nie Laurie’, Not with my own voice, but with my own feeling, and thrilled with the experience as I knew the artist himself must thrill. Nomusic that L had ever listened to had given me a tithe of such exquisite pleasure. “Did I buy that wonderful instru- ment? [t's in my home today and I question if money could get it away from me if I could not replace it. With its aid, I, a hitherto dumb musician, sing and play with the voices and_the talents of the world’s great artists.” v The Acolian-Vocalion is on exhibi- tion and sale at the present only in a limited number of the leading music stores. Catalog and address of the nearest store will be sent upon request; also particulars as to arrangements for hearing the Acolian-Vocalion in locali- tics where it is not represented, Ad- dress Dept. B-3. PRICES FROM $35 TO €2000 Conventional Styles 835 to $75 without the Graduola Conventional Styles $100 to $350 with the Graduola Art Styles $375 to $2000 Moderate Monthly Payments THE AEOLIAN COMPANY AEOLIAN HALL NEW YORK Makers of the famous Pianola and largest manufacturers of musical instruments in the Copyright, 1914, 1916, The Aeolian Company comicbooks.com puma | XN 4