Life, 1918-01-03 · page 40 of 40
Life — January 3, 1918 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not a political cartoon. It promotes Victor's new 542-page music catalog, claiming it represents "the world's greatest catalog of music" after twenty years and eleven million dollars of research. The ad emphasizes Victor's market dominance by stressing the catalog's comprehensiveness—featuring the world's greatest artists and their recordings. It appeals to music lovers broadly, not just phonograph owners, suggesting widespread cultural aspiration. The final section, titled "Victor Supremacy," contains a legal warning: "Victrola" is Victor's trademarked term, and competitors using it are committing fraud. This reveals market competition—competitors were apparently copying Victor's branding to sell rival talking machines. The page reflects early 20th-century consumer culture, where branded entertainment catalogs functioned as cultural status symbols and competitive tool in the emerging phonograph industry.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
r “The world's greatest catalog of music . ; A book that every music-lover will want It has required 20 years of constant research, of steady application, of tireless effort, and the expenditure of more than Eleven Million Dollars to place this Victor Record catalog in your hands. This great book of 542 pages is the recognized authoritative index to the world’s best music; to the greatest musical achieve- ments of all time. Its pages are living tributes to the years of unceasing vigil spent in gathering the best music from every portion of the globe. They reflect the hours upon hours which the greatest artists have devoted to recording their superb art for the delight of all generations. They attest to the enormous amount of time and millions of dollars spent in developing the art of record- ing to its present state of perfection. And through each and every page runs the story and proof of Victor supremacy. Every music-lover will want a copy of this great Victor catalog of music. Everybody should have this book, whether or not they have a Victrola, All will appreciate it because of the information about artists, operas and composers, and the numerous portraits and illustrations it contains. Any Victor dealer will gladly give you a copy of this great catalog of music, or we will mail you a copy free, postage paid. Victor Talking Machine Co., Camden, N. J., U.S. A. Berlioer Gramephowe Co., Montreal, Canadian Di > Important Notice. victor Records and Victor Machines are scientifically coordi- nated and synchronized by our special processes of manufacture, and their use, one with the other, is absolutely essential to a perfect Victor reproduction. New Victor Records demonstrated at all dealers on the Ist of each month Victor Supremacy “Victrola” is the Registered Trade-mark of the Victor Talking Machine Company designating the products of this Company only. Warning: The use of the word Victrola upon or in the pro- motion or saleof 1y other Talking Machine or Phonograph products is misleading and illegal.