Life, 1916-05-18 · page 35 of 48
Life — May 18, 1916 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **business advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes the Multigraph, a printing and duplicating machine, to early 20th-century business owners. The hand illustration at the top is a visual metaphor showing the machine's benefits as "fingers" or achievements: cost savings ($593.19 on the first job, $6,000 annually), high production volume (2 million pieces yearly), versatility (35+ forms), and endorsement from a major client (the Chicago Portland Cement Company). The accompanying photographs and sample documents demonstrate the machine's actual output quality and variety. The "Put It Up to Us" section pitches flexible payment plans ($200–$715) to make the technology accessible to small and large businesses alike. This represents early industrial marketing—using concrete data and client testimonials to convince business owners that mechanized printing would increase efficiency and reduce costs. There is no hidden satirical message; it's straightforward product promotion aimed at business readers of *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
n book: 1 from dressed f unso A Handful of Proof How the Multigraph found a steady job with the Chicago Portland Cement Company Itdidn’t take long forthe Multigraph to make good here. It’s first job saved the company $593.19—more than the machine cost. And that was only the beginning. Arecord of eight months’ work showed asaving of $4,000 on printing jobs, com- pared with lowest outside estimates. That means a yearly saving of $6,000. Two Million Pieces of Printing a Year _This company started with one machine. Now they have two, turning out over 2,000,000 pieces of printing a year—including over thirty- five different forms, from a circular letter to a two-color folder. Quality of work is an es- sential with a firm of their size and reputation, and the Multigraph comes up to their high standard in every respect. The Multigraph department fs a very important branch of the Chicago Portland Cement Com- pany’s offices. Put It Up to Us There’s an easy way to learn how good an invest- ment the Multigraph is for your own business. Let us analyze your needs, whether yours is a large or small business. Some one Multigraph equipment is sure to suit your re- quirements as well as your pocket- book. You needn’t pay all at once —20% down and monthly install- ments will buy any model, from $200 for a small hand operated machine to $715 or more for a power driven equipment with all the improved attachments for more varied work. Mail the coupon and we'll do our part THE WAY TO OPPORTUNITY [MULTIGRAPH, 1810 E. 40th Street, Cleveland Tend shell be stad to have farther information regarding he “Multigraph and ite pomible application to my ualness. | pStteet Address, [Tow ATTACH THIS T K LETTERHEAD AND MALL comicbooks.com