Life, 1920-07-01 · page 45 of 56
Life — July 1, 1920 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Columbia's Grafonola phonograph, emphasizing its "Non-Set Automatic Stop" feature—a convenience innovation that lets records play and stop without manual adjustment. The illustration depicts an idealized leisure scene: well-dressed people enjoying music together on a beach or seaside setting, with the cabinet-style phonograph as the focal point. This reflects 1920s aspirational marketing: the product enables social entertainment and relaxation "wherever you are." The tagline "Music Wherever You Are" emphasizes portability and accessibility. For modern readers: this represents early consumer electronics marketed as lifestyle enhancers—similar to how smartphones are advertised today. The emphasis on ease-of-use and aesthetic design ("Exquisite beauty of design") positions the expensive device as both functional and fashionable.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| Grafonola Music Wherever You cAre A Columbia Grafonola al- ways gives you lots of fun and requires mighty little care. Its Non-Set Automat- ic Stop, an exclusive Co- lumbia improvement, lets you listen in peace to the very end of every record. There’s nothing tomoveor set or measure. Just puton your record and the Grafo- nola plays and stops itself. Full, pure, unmuffled tone. Exquisite beauty of design. The greatest con- venience of mechanism. Corumata Grapnornone Co., New York Canadian Factory: Toronto Columbia Grofonolas Standard Mo Period Desig: comicbooks.com