Life, 1914-03-12 · page 29 of 44
Life — March 12, 1914 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **straightforward advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Remington's new Adding and Subtracting Typewriter—a mechanical innovation that performs arithmetic automatically while typing. **The "Point":** This machine saves clerical labor by eliminating manual addition/subtraction when preparing bills. Each keystroke both types numbers AND calculates totals simultaneously. The ad emphasizes efficiency gains: freeing bookkeepers from tedious arithmetic, reducing errors, and paying for itself quickly through time savings. **Context for modern readers:** This represents early office automation (appears to be 1920s-1930s era based on style). The typewriter with built-in calculating function was genuinely innovative technology—what we'd now recognize as a precursor to electric calculators and computer spreadsheets. The ad's appeal to businesses large and small, and its mention of government/corporate adoption (Sub-Treasury, railroads, insurance companies), reflects how transformative such labor-saving devices were in that era. There is no cartoon or satire present—this is simply period business advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE ( M New Speed in Billing This mechanism. saves your bookkeeper’s time It foots your bills as fast as they are typed Here is the latest Remington achievement in time-saving—an easy-running typewriter with a head for figures. It relieves your bookkeeper of school-boy addition and subtraction. It frees him for more important duties. It compels accuracy. * * * Suppose you have the machine before you. Press the numeral keys. Look! Each type stroke does double duty. You will see the amounts not only typed, but added. The two acts are simultaneous. Your discounts are subtracted mechanically with equal ease. Without a single interruption for addition or subtraction your bills are ready to mail. From this time forward stopping to foot bills and statements, or check totals will be sheer waste of clerical time. Your totals once en- tered are as correct as though certified by an expert accountant, tee ee After turning out a batch of bills your typist may wish to typewrite letters. Very well! Switch a lever. She has a comptete, fully-equipped Remington Typewriter. Every business purpose which alls for writing and adding on the same page, calls for this latest Rem- ington time-saver. se es If you have a large business you can use several of these time-savers. If you have a small business one will effect a quick saving in billing and charging. The initial cost is soon wiped out. The more work you give the Rem- ington Adding and Subtracting Typewriter the quicker it pays for itself. Your present typist :an_ start using it tomorrow. By night she will be saving you time and money. xe ht & The Remington Adding and Sub- tracting Typewriter is now used constantly by the United States Sub-Treasury, Banks, Railroads, Life Insurance Companies, retail- ufacturers and many other es, large and small. It is good for many years of “heavy days”? Sooner or later you will write and foot your bills simultaneously. You can’t begin too soon. Delay simply means more time-waste and error-risk in your office. Write today to our New York office for booklet, ‘‘The New Remington Idea,’’ which describes this remarkable machine in detail. The Remington Adding and Subtract- ing Typewriter can be had in any of the Remington Models shown below. __ Each is a member of the famous Rem- ington family. Each is a complete casy-running type- writer, plus the adding and subtracting feature. Each is designed and built, so as fo insure maximum durability Each has distinctive features designed — to meet individual require- ments, Write today for book- let, ‘The New Reming- ton Idea.”” Your totals. are shown here as’ fast as the figures are typed. Remington Typewriter Company, Incorporated, New York City (Branches Everywhere) For clear, clean, typewriter results, use Remtico brand letter paper, carbon paper and ribbons comicbooks.com