Life, 1918-03-21 · page 12 of 56
Life — March 21, 1918 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **commercial advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The A.B. Dick Company advertises the "Mimeograph" (an early duplicating machine) by showing an office scene where a woman operates the device while her boss watches approvingly. The ad's pitch emphasizes **efficiency gains**: the machine reduces operating staff and office expenses while producing "better letters, bulletins, forms, blanks, etc." faster than previous methods. The appeal targets business managers concerned with modernization and cost-cutting. The woman's presence suggests the Mimeograph could be operated by clerical staff, not specialized technicians—making it practical for offices of various sizes. This reflects early-20th-century optimism about labor-saving technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“How did we do it—before we had the Mimeograph?” queries her boss. . “It has cut down our operating, staff and our office expense. But better still, it-has saved great chunks of precious time—and that’s what counts now.” The Mimeograph prints better letters, bul- letins, forms, blanks, ete.—with diagrams and illustrations if you wish—quicker than ever before. Let us show you. A word of caution: The Edison-Dick Mimeograph and the supplies which we manufacture for it are made to work together. Upset this relationship, the work suffers, and our responsi- bility for its quality and output ceases. Substitute inferior supplies and the result is the sure waste of both valuable time and materials. You do not know what splendid work the Mimeograph can do unless you have seen the new Mimeograph operating, under properconditions. Write for booklet “W"—today. A.B. Dick Company, Chica}o—and New York. H] IMATE IOI A UOC ie rAMRESTONELOAPERESAVERGBM 1 AMATI A MEARE ee PEL