Life, 1917-01-11 · page 3 of 38
Life — January 11, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**, but rather a **straightforward advertisement** for the mimeograph machine, placed in *Life* magazine (page 43). The ad features a businessman at his desk demonstrating the A.B. Dick mimeograph—a duplicating device. The text emphasizes cost savings: the company saved $11 by mimeographing requisition forms instead of hiring a printer ($17 for their previous supply). The appeal targets small business owners and office managers, highlighting the mimeograph's efficiency: automatic feeding, inking, and electrical operation could produce "a thousand perfect duplicates" in twenty minutes. This reflects early-20th-century business culture where office automation was novel and genuinely revolutionary, promising independence from expensive outside printing services.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1/“Our net saving—by mimeo- graphing, this lot of requisitions— is eleven dollars. We paid a printer seventeen dollars for our last supply.” Here’s economy with independence in dupli- cating, forms, letters and circulars for store, factory and office. You simply typewrite, hand-write, rule or draw whatever you want copied; put the stencil on the mimeo- graph—which is automatically fed, automatically inked, electrically operated—and in twenty minutes have a thousand per- fect duplicates. Easy! There’s no type to set-—and throw in; no cuts to buy—and throw away; no printers to wait on—and pay. Booklet ‘‘W” explains how the mimeograph will help you improve your systems and your business—and save money. A.B. Dick Co., Chica}o—and New York.