Life, 1916-10-19 · page 42 of 42
Life — October 19, 1916 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Columbia Records advertisement** rather than political satire. It features three photographs of famous opera singers framing a central historical illustration. **The figures identified:** - **Mary Garden** (left): World-renowned French opera star - **Olive Fremstad** (right): Greatest Wagnerian soprano of the era - **Center image**: Labeled "Ancient Zinke and Nakeres, Forerunners of the Military Band"—a historical reference to early musical instruments/performers **The advertisement's point:** Columbia Records' superior recording technology captures these prestigious opera singers with such "realism, truth and effectiveness" that listeners experience the singers' personalities authentically. The juxtaposition of ancient musicians with modern operatic stars suggests recording technology represents progress in preserving the human voice. **For modern readers:** This showcases early 20th-century celebrity endorsement marketing—major cultural figures (opera stars) lending prestige to a commercial product. The historical framing device implies technology connects us across time to genuine artistry.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
October 19, 1916 Ancient Zinke and Nakeres, Forerunners of the Military Band Fremstad, greatest of Wagnerian sopranos, at the superb height of her brilliant voice in ‘* Brunnhilde’s Battle Cry’? — Garden, the world-famed French opera star, sing- ing ‘Love Is A Virtue Rare’’—the aria that is her greatest triumph in Massenet’s ‘* Thais””— Recorded on two Columbia Records of such rea/ism, truth and effectiveness that you get an unforgettable impression of the singers’ personalities. The sole proof needed that Columbia Records are absolute echoes of the /ving voice is to hear the records of Garden or Frem- stad, or Gates, Nielsen or Macbeth—Qucens of the Opera who paid the highest tribute to the exc/us've Columbia process of re- cording, by electing to sing for Columbia exclusively. New Columbia Records on sale the 20th of every month Columbia Double-Disc | s