Life, 1918-01-31 · page 40 of 40
Life — January 31, 1918 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Columbia Grafonolas (early phonographs/record players) from the World War I era, as evidenced by the patriotic footer "Food will win the war, Don't waste it." The advertisement uses a domestic scene showing a salesman demonstrating a Grafonola to a family (man, woman, and children) in a store. The pitch emphasizes the "pleasant business" of leisurely auditioning records before purchase—a novel consumer experience at the time. The accompanying interior photograph shows an elegant living room with the device, suggesting it as a desirable home furnishing. Prices ranging from $18 to $2,100 indicate a broad market, from affordable to luxury models. No caricatures or political figures are present. This is straightforward early 20th-century consumer marketing highlighting the novelty of hearing music on demand before buying.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a TTT [he Pleasant Business of Buying a Grafonola Go to the store where Columbia Grafonolas are sold. Walk in. Columbia sales people know how to treat the man and his wife who would like to doa lot of looking and listening before they begin to buy. Look over the catalog of records. Pick out what you want. The records will be brought and played. Then play some yourself. Take this sensible way of getting acquainted with the Grafonola. Compare it with other instruments. In direct comparison the Columbia Grafonola al- ways appears at its best. Columbia Grafonolas are priced at $18 to $250 Period Designs up to $2100 COLUMBIA GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY NEW YORK Food will win the war, Don't waste it. ‘3 Coprtiedt. b easy