Life, 1919-12-04 · page 16 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a political cartoon but a **product advertisement** for Columbia Graphophone Company's "Grafonola" (an early phonograph/record player). The page uses festive Christmas imagery—carolers, a Gothic mansion, period decorations—to market a phonograph designed to look like a 15th-century Gothic chest. The visual appeal targets affluent consumers who valued both functionality and home décor. The "satire" (if any) is gentle: the ad promises that this expensive device ($309-$2100, substantial sums in the early 20th century) will bring happiness and "jolliest music" to the home. The nostalgic Gothic styling suggests that modern convenience wrapped in antique aesthetics represents good taste and cultural refinement. This reflects broader 1920s-era consumer culture trends: marketing technology as both practical and decorative, and appealing to middle/upper-class aspirations for cultured domesticity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Happy Music for Yuletide Happiness for Yuletide and many musical years to come is what this handsome Gothic Grafonola will bring you. Christmas carols on Christmas morning, and all the happiest, jolliest music on every other day of every coming year. The design of this Grafonola is a faithful reproduction of an exquisite old 15th Century chest, preserved in a famous museum as an example of the best craftsmanship of the Gothic period. With its rich carving and COLUMBIA GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY New York London Factory: 102 Clerkenwell Roed, E.C, artistic design, it is a noticeable addition to the decorative treatment of any home. Every one of the 27 different Columbia Period Designs is, first of all, a perfect musi- cal instrument, its tone marked by the superb clearness and purity which distinguish every Grafonola, whatever its style or price. Period Design Grafonolas, clectrically equipped, motor starting and stopping auto- matically, $309 to $2100, Standard Models up to $300, Columbia Grafonola in 15th Century Gothic Design comicbooks.comm