For a few months in late 1914, the post was held by Clocko the Mechanical Fiddler. 

(Yes that sounds plausible: it’s the meta-cultural rhetoric which interests me, precisely because the specifics would have seemed much less culturally threatening, somewhat more culturally reasonable and “modern”, to most punters, I imagine.) 

“SIGN THE COUPON. Then mail it” :)

jonathanbogart:

dubdobdee:

What’s the date of this? Which precise technology is a “mechanical substitute in the theatre” referring to? (Piped sound for films? Jukeboxes? But they seem to be stressing the word theatre — indeed cap-T Theatre… so what’s the deal with music in theatres, and when was this?)

Also: the piano teacher looks like a wrong ‘un to me. Sit down man!

tomewing:

via @paleofuture on Twitter

Wiki sez Joseph Weber was president of the AFM from 1900-1914, and again from 1915-1940, which is quite a stretch of time. The style of illustration suggests late 20s to me, which is when the AFM was exercised about talkies (esp. musicals) forcing accompanists out of a job; and as picture-houses were in the process of gradually taking over theater houses of all kinds from legit to vaudeville to burlesque, lots of them were experimenting with all kinds of halfway entertainments, a mixture of live and pre-recorded, and pre-recorded, because cheaper, was winning. So my ed. guess is 1928-1931, and the ad is generalized anxiety- and snob-mongering rather than pointing to a specific “problem.”