Life, 1917-09-06 · page 40 of 40
Life — September 6, 1917 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Victor Records advertisement** from September 1917, not political satire. It promotes Irish tenor John McCormack's phonograph recordings. The page depicts McCormack's origin story: a nine-year-old boy in rural Ireland (Athlone/Mullingar) who heard a wandering minstrel and followed him, inspiring his eventual career as a world-renowned singer. The illustration shows this legendary "first audience"—country people gathered on an Irish road. The advertisement's appeal is **nostalgic and nationalist**: it romanticizes rural Irish culture and positions McCormack as an Irish success story who brought traditional Irish music to global audiences. The narrative emphasizes his humble origins and the blessing of Irish mothers, likely resonating with Irish-American readers during WWI. The sales pitch is straightforward: McCormack records exclusively for Victor, therefore Victor records are superior. Readers should purchase his recordings at Victor dealers. There is **no political cartoon or satire** here—it's a straightforward testimonial advertisement using sentimental storytelling.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 6, 1917 On the high road between Athlone and Mullingar, Ireland John M‘Cormack’s first audience The Irish lad who ran away to be a minstrel and grew up to be a world-famed artist A boy nine years old stood ata street corner on a“ fair day" in Athlone and listened to an old fiddler and ballad singer. The first thrill of romance surged in the boy's veins. When the wandering minstrel struck out for the next town, the lad trudged blissfully by. his side, with boyish indifference to the home folks beside the river Shannon, ‘o days later the boy's frantic parents overtook him at Mullingar. He got no “licking "—only a mother's blessing and the tears of those who heard him sing “ Molly Brannigan,” the first ballad he ever learned. Thus did John McCormack take his first journey on the highroad to Fame. Today the minstrel-boy has grown into a world-famed artist, a singer renowned in every land. His first wayside audience of country folks has swelled to vast audiences filling the great audi- toriums in the capitals of the world and to that still mightier host who know and love him through his Victor Records. John McCormack makes records for the Victor exclusively. With the artist's sure instinct, he knows and appreciates Victor Supremacy. Hear the McCormack records at the nearest Victor store, ee