Life, 1921-04-14 · page 36 of 36
Life — April 14, 1921 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Victrola phonograph advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The page promotes Victor Talking Machine Company's gramophone technology. The image shows a large Victrola machine as the centerpiece, surrounded by illustrated scenes of musical performances—orchestras, opera singers, and audiences—representing the variety of music available on records. The advertisement's pitch exploits a genuine advantage of recorded music in the early 20th century: **hearing famous performers and new artists before live performances were accessible**. For most people, encountering cutting-edge opera or discovering new musicians required phonograph records; attending actual performances remained expensive and limited. The price range ($25-$1500) indicates Victrola marketed to various income levels. The claim that records featured "the same principals who triumphed in its performance" emphasized authenticity and prestige. This reflects pre-radio era entertainment consumption, when recorded music was a primary means of accessing cultural events beyond one's immediate geography.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Victrola keeps you in touch with all musical events Does some new artist whose name you have never heard suddenly capture the attention of the musical world? The Victrola gives you the opportunity to hear the artist, in most cases before you have the chance to attend an actual per- formance. Does some new opera have its premiere, or is some older opera revived? You hear its choicest arias on the Victrola by the same principals who triumphed in its performance. Whatever is new and good in musical entertainment is duplicated on the Victrola. From the old masterpieces to the latest hits of musical comedy, the Victrola and Victor Records offer you the world’s best. Victrolas $25 to $1500. Victor dealers everywhere. New Victor Records demonstrated at all dealers on the 1st of each month, comicbooks.com