Life, 1921-02-10 · page 6 of 42
Life — February 10, 1921 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **commercial advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It's a Victor Talking Machine Company ad promoting Victrola phonographs, featuring a portrait of **Enrico Caruso**, the renowned tenor who died in 1921. The ad's central claim is that recording technology has achieved what was previously impossible: preserving great artists' performances permanently. It contrasts Caruso's recorded voice—which "will live through all the ages"—with Jenny Lind's performances, which disappeared with her death. The advertisement positions the Victrola as a cultural institution, pricing units from $25 to $1500 and claiming that owning one provides access to "the greatest artists of the present generation," thus democratizing high art through technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Caruso immortalized A vast heritage of arts and literature has been bequeathed to the world by the passing centuries, but it remained for the Victrola to perform a similar service for music. It has bridged the oblivion into which both singer and musician passed. The voice of Jenny Lind is forever stilled, but that of Caruso will live through all the ages. The greatest artists of the present genera- tion have recorded their art for the Victrola, and so established the enduring evidence of their greatness. There are Victrolas from $25 to $1500. New Victor Records on sale at all dealers on the 1st of each month. Victrola 6. U.9. PAY. OFF, Victor Talking Machine Co. Camden, New Jersey comicbooks.com