Life, 1919-02-06 · page 6 of 38
Life — February 6, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **full-page advertisement** for the Mimeograph machine by A.B. Dick Company, not a political cartoon. The ad uses an allegorical image of a winged male figure (appearing to represent Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and speed) to symbolize rapid business communication. The advertisement's central claim is that mimeographing saves time—"man's means of saving that most precious of all commodities." It emphasizes the machine's speed (nearly 100 duplications per minute) and efficiency in reproducing letters and forms for business distribution. The "time-thrift" concept appeals to modern business efficiency. This reflects early-20th-century industrial culture's emphasis on speed and productivity. The reference to booklet "W" and the Chicago/New York offices indicate this is contemporary corporate promotion rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Time-thrift! Speed is man’s means of saving that most precious of all commodities—time. Because Mimeographing is the speediest method of duplicating all kinds of letters and forms it has taken its place among the great economies of modern business life. Dictate a letter and within the hour the Mimeograph will deliver thousands of completed copies ready for dis- tribution. Its steady grist is nearly a hundred dupli- cations a minute—exact and well printed facsimiles of the original typewritten or handwritten sheet. Draw- ings too may easily be included thereon. With the least possible delay the Mimeograph bridges the distance from your thought to the many who should receive it. Real time-thrift, that! Our booklet “‘W” is now ready for you. A. B. Dick omen Chicago—and New York. ea