Life, 1918-07-04 · page 2 of 36
Life — July 4, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Columbia Records' gramophone player—a device for playing recorded music. The illustration shows animated figures (musicians, dancers, opera singers) emanating from or surrounding the gramophone device, visually representing the diverse music available on Columbia Records: "joyous, sparkling, up-to-the-minute music," popular dances, operatic works, and classical symphonies. The text emphasizes the gramophone's quality construction and "superb volume of tone" that does justice to recordings. The lower left includes small sketches of performers with the tagline "Poof! went the beer. Don't waste it"—though this phrase's meaning in this context is unclear. This is essentially early 20th-century consumer marketing using vibrant imagery to convey entertainment variety and product superiority.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
R joyous, sparkling, up-to-the- | minute music —Columbia Rec- cords on the Columbia Grafonola. For the latest hits of the top-liners, for the newest novelty dances, for the comic opera tunes that every- body’s whistling, for the songs the | soldiers really sing—Columbia Rec- ords on the Columbia Grafonola. } For the great music of all ages, for operatic masterpieces sung by world-famous artists, for the orches- | tral triumphs of great symphonies: Columbia Records on the Columbia Grafonola. ‘ gener ena tees ar tut ibs HE Columbia Grafonola is the instrument that runs up the biggest musical mileage because 4) Columbia Records give Columbia owners the er music they really like and want to play. A big, handsome, clear-voiced instrument is the Columbia Grafonola with a rich. quality and | superb volume of tone that does full justice to /P 2)” Columbia Records. For live, up-to-date music on | a live, up-to-date instrument—Columbia Records |) on the Columbia Grafonola. patient Food will win the war. Dont waste it ~ Columbia Graphophone Co D Neovo