Life — December 5, 1918 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Columbia Grafonola Advertisement This is a **Christmas advertisement** for the Columbia Grafonola, a gramophone (record player) manufactured by Columbia Graphophone Company, New York. The ad uses idealized domestic scenes to market the device as essential home entertainment. It depicts families of different sizes enjoying music together during the holidays, emphasizing how the Grafonola brings "a new and different pleasure to every member of the household." The text promises that owning this "big, handsome" machine will provide "many happy musical years to come." Pricing is listed as Standard Models up to $700 and Period Designs up to $1,100. There's also a reference to "Buy War Savings Stamps," indicating this ad likely dates to **World War I era**, when such patriotic appeals were common in American advertising. This is straightforward product advertising, not political satire.