Life, 1916-04-20 · page 5 of 52
Life — April 20, 1916 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not satire or political commentary. It showcases the Multigraph machine, an early 20th-century duplicating device that produced multiple copies of letters and documents. The advertisement demonstrates how a business manager could order 1,000 form letters "in a hurry" at 1/10 cent per copy. Eight numbered photographs show the process: dictating the letter, composing it on a typewriter, inking the ribbon, making a proof, correcting errors, cleaning the type, distributing printed copies, and final mailing. The headline "The Way to Opportunity" frames this as a business solution. The Multigraph company offered both machines for sale and employment opportunities for operators. This represents practical industrial advertising of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
733 1000 Letters “In a Hurry” at a Cost of 5 of a Cent Apiece ‘That was the result of an order from the man higher up. He wanted the letters quickly—but he also wanted them neat and accurate, The Multigraph Junior accomplished it all—and more. An average employee did the work, and the cost was a revelation, Study the pictures. Note the simplicity of operations. Compare the cost with your own cost of form letters, if you do not owna Multigraph. Then mail us the coupon. The head of the firm puts in a hurry call for 1,000 form letters. Note the time. A little practice has enabled the operator to use the Flexo: Typesetter and compose a letter rapidly. It's a simple matter to put the inked ribbon over the type form and take a proof. Corrections mean nothing more than sliding out the line of type, changing the wrong letter and replacing the line. Just _a question of turning the crank and feeding the paper. The job is done and the ribbon removed in no time. The type is quickly cleaned, and the printing drum may be set aside for another run later on if desired. The final_operation—distributing the type from printing drum to Flexo-Typesetter—is even quicker than composing. All ready for m 1,000 neat, accurate let- ters ata surprisingly low cost,” produced in 1} hours, privately and conveniently. Prom the fal O OPPORTUNITY Multigraph Junior at $200 | MULTIGRAPH, 1810 E. 40th Street, Cleveland complete, to the T shall be glad to sce one of your representatives and get Multigraph : full tetormation reganting the Multigraph ond ite posite Senior, with ; application to my business. power ‘driv Name up to | Official Position, uses are ‘varied Firm the advanti Term: Street Address easy—20% down andeasymonth- | Tewn...... sabe SANS ly payments. ; ‘i Gc baclltheecapen, Attach This to Your Letterhead and Mait comicbooks.com