Life, 1915-10-21 · page 39 of 52
Life — October 21, 1915 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **product advertisement** for Multigraph office equipment, appearing in Life magazine (likely 1920s-30s based on styling and typography). The page announces two new copying/printing machine models: the Multigraph Senior ($665) and Junior ($200). The image shows a woman operator using the equipment at her desk. **The "pitch":** These machines will pay for themselves by enabling small businesses to produce professional typewritten letters, forms, and direct-mail materials in-house at 25-75% cost savings. The ad emphasizes the machines are simple to operate, space-efficient, and already used by major corporations, government agencies, and banks. **For modern readers:** This represents early office automation marketing—selling labor-saving technology to businesses. The gendered imagery (woman operator) reflects period workplace norms. The financing offer ("20% down, easy monthly payments") shows early consumer credit marketing targeting small business owners.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MULTIGRAPH SENIOR $665 THE NEW MULTIGRAPH SENIOR Complete with electric power drive, printing ink attachment, automatic paper feed, auto- matic platen release and wide-printing surface. Does form typewriting 1200 to 4800 sheets an, hour, and prints from its own type or from lecttotypes, | Typesetting is done easly and T rapidly on the Compotype"*shown at the left. ANNOUNCING TWO NEW MODELS 20% Down—Easy Monthly Payments Rack of these equipments should earn enough to pay installments as they fall due—will do perfect typewriting and real printers’ ink printing—will bring you new business and cut your printing bills in half. Multigraph equipment has paid for itself many times over in thousands of business concerns who thought ‘“‘we haven’t enough form typewriting and printing to keep it busy.” It turns out clean cut, beautifully typewritten form letters that bring in new business. It prints, in real printers’ ink, office and factory forms and high-class direct-mail matter at 25% to 75% of what they used tocost. It takes up only a corner in the office. It is always ready for a new job, is easily operated by MULTIGRAPH JUNIOR average employees, and ranges in price and scope to suit any firm’s needs. Used in Over 200 Lines of Business Multigraph users range from small concerns with limited capital to the largest and best known manu- facturing, wholesale, retail and professional firms and corporations. They include the National Govern- ment; State, County and Municipal Governments, Banks, Railroads, Steamship Lines, Hotels, Institu- tions, Agencies, Associations, Publishing Houses, etc. THE NEW MULTIGRAPH JUNIOR This convenient. simple, hand-operated equipment meets the need of many whose requirements aren't big enough for the Multigraph Senior, It does the same high quality form typewriting and real printing. Type is easily and rapidly set by means of the convenient Flexo-Typesetter. } MULTIGRAPH, 1810 F. 40 I shall be glad to havea the Multigraph producing wor Name. Official Position Firm Street address... Town. comicbooks.com