Life, 1926-10-28 · page 27 of 36
Life — October 28, 1926 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **product advertisement** for Thorola radios, published by Reichmann Company of Chicago. The page uses a historical analogy to market the product: just as the crude Arabic kemangeh (a bowed stringed instrument) evolved over centuries into the modern violin, so has radio technology advanced dramatically. The text claims Thorola represents a revolutionary leap in radio reception through its exclusive "Horn and Cone Combination" design. The imagery shows: - A musician playing kemangeh (left) - The Thorola Model 59 deluxe console radio (center) - A man playing violin (right) - Various Thorola speaker models displayed The advertisement's purpose is straightforward product promotion—positioning Thorola as the cutting-edge evolution of radio technology, making superior sound quality "audible" to consumers. There is no political commentary or satirical intent; this appears in Life magazine's advertising section.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life horolas Horn “ Cone Combination ~as far beyond Just Radio” n is beyond Kemangeh as Vio. The Kemangeh, the ancient Arabic viol so dear to the Mohammedan heart, was the ancestor of the sdem violin. Deluxe Console 185 Power Operated at Slight Additional Cost. T took hundreds of years for the crude, stuttering Arabic kemangeh to evolve into the marvelous violin of our day. Yet the contrast is no more startling than the gulf between the radio of yester- year and—@horola. The advances recently scored in sound recording Thergla Model 9, have for some time been available in radio broad- ene ° casting. It remained for Ghorola to make them available in radio reception. This is accomplished by the combination of both Horn and Cone—an exclusive Ghorola feature. Elusive, delightful tonal qualities that have long been waiting to be brought out, are now made audible through Ghorola. Moet « REICHMANN COMPANY, Chicago, U.S.A. Thorata Mode §7.-$60 Horse Speaker, $25 comicbooks.com