Life — August 1, 1918 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of This Life Magazine Advertisement This is a **commercial advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It promotes the Mimeograph machine by A.B. Dick Company, positioned as a wartime business solution. The ad uses patriotic framing—"days of the war"—to appeal to businessmen. It argues that mimeographs enable salesmen to distribute five thousand printed letters hourly at minimal cost, thereby "releasing man-power" for military service during what appears to be **World War I era** (based on language about "the war"). The illustration shows a woman operating the mimeograph, reflecting wartime workforce shifts as men enlisted. The ad emphasizes efficiency and cost-effectiveness as patriotic contributions to the war effort while promoting a business machine.