70. Today in 1920s Turkey: 22 March 1928 (His Master’s Voice Gramophones)

(Advertisement by İhap Hulusi, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 22 March 1928, no. 551, page 4.)

Comments:
This advertisement for a portable, crank-operated record player is one of the more visually appealing ads that was running in the newspapers of this period. As one of the artist’s earlier works, this image exemplifies İhap Hulusi Görey’s (1898-1986) celebrated graphic style and demonstrates the pioneering role he played in developing a strong and consistent syntax to the visual language of advertisements very early on in his career. In the lower right corner of the ad is located his signature which consists of a his name over a triangle and includes his location “Istanbul” below. For another example of İhap Hulusi's work (not an advertisement) see post #44.

The present ad consists of several images superimposed upon one another. On the base layer is a pair of men—one smoking a hookah—seated on stools, in deep conversation. The shadowy men, which are rendered in lighter, less frequent strokes have the name of the product, “His Master’s Voice Gramophones” printed above their heads. To the right of this text, in a small roundel is the brand’s emblem: a confused dog with a cocked head looking into the cylinder of a gramophone. His Master’s Voice was a British owned record and gramophone company and this logo constitutes a simplified version of the original. His Master’s Voice’s products, a record (bearing the HMV name and logo) and a phonograph, are layered over the two men. The reader’s attention is drawn to these denser, darker commercial products above all of the other clutter in the advertisement. The phonograph is compact, convenient, and enticing in its simplicity. Perhaps these are the very qualities that the two chatty men in the background are discussing... Or maybe they are conversing about the wonders of modern technology through the example of this product. This advertisement therefor functions by introducing the audience to the product while also suggesting that it is remarkable and “buzz-worthy” through the imagery of the men, thus persuading readers to either buy the product or talk about it to create what we would today call “hype” around it.

English
His Master’s Voice
His Master’s Voice: is the best of all gramophones!

Türkçe
Sahibinin Sesi Gramfonları
Sahibinini Sesi: Gramfonların en güzelidir!

(Entire page, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 22 March 1928, no. 551, page 4.)