Life, 1925-10-15 · page 25 of 36
Life — October 15, 1925 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **commercial advertisement** for Freed-Eisemann radios, not political satire. It uses Lincoln's famous quote about trusting "the judgment of this great tribunal of American people" to market radios as a consumer product endorsed by popular choice. The illustration depicts **Lincoln surrounded by citizens**, invoking his authority and democratic ideals to sell Neutrodyne receivers. The text claims Americans have democratically "chosen" Freed-Eisemann radios—sales allegedly exceeding competitors' combined volume. The advertisement emphasizes **personal responsibility** from company executives (Joseph D. R. Freed, Alexander Eisemann, and Arthur Freed), framing radio manufacturing as a moral enterprise aligned with American values. The lower section displays various radio models with prices ($75-$110). **For modern readers:** This represents how advertisers in the 1920s-30s appropriated patriotic and democratic rhetoric to legitimize commercial products, equating consumer preference with democratic judgment. It's marketing disguised as civic virtue.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“—by the judgment of this great tribunal of cAmerican people ” LINCOLN T was Lincoln's faith that the judgment of this tribunal is right. And so through the years it has proved to be —not only in the great matters of State, but in the thou- sand choices of daily life. Out of the multitude of things offered to them, the American people have given their marked preference to but a few—and to those few only because they deserve it. Last year, the American public made known its preference in Radio. The most striking feature of its choice is the continued preference given to one set-—the Freep-EtseMAnn. Although competing with thirteen other manufacturers of Neutrodyne Receivers, the volume of Freep-Eisem sales was more than half of all the others combined. Today, Freep-EtseMANN is by far the largest manufacturer of Neutrodyne sets in the world. Trust FREED-EISEMANN on PERSONAL Responsibility Mr. Joseph D. R. Freed, Mr. Alexander Eisemann and Mr. Arthur Freed, the executives of the Company, feel personally responsible to you for the performance of their radio set. They have inspired every man in their great plant with the same uncompromising vigilance; the same devotion to an ideal. You will know at the first turn of the dials, that your Freep-EiseMAnn has been built by clever, trained, unhurried hands to give you pleasure—now and for years to come. You can have a home demonstration without cost or obligation. & i : “Fi ys Telephone your Freep-EiseMANN dealer today! Et £ CO ‘ Speed-Cisemann Fra hr Gorfroraliow MANHATTAN BRIDCE PLAZA, BROOKLYN, N. Y. A personal message from JOSEPH D R. FREED ! nb because scruction bu NEW! FE-19- $75 NEW! NR-, $110 [EREED- EISEMANN\ Mastery in Radio comicbooks.com