Life — August 7, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. The image shows cherries on a branch. The advertisement for the Mimeograph machine uses a rhetorical device comparing unfamiliar technology to unfamiliar taste: just as someone who'd never tasted a cherry couldn't describe it, someone who hasn't seen a Mimeograph in operation can't judge its value. The ad emphasizes the machine's speed and efficiency—it "reproduces letters, forms, plans, maps, drawings" rapidly using stencils. The pitch targets business users, claiming the device saves "minutes and money" for companies that "cannot afford to waste time." This reflects early 20th-century business culture's enthusiasm for labor-saving office technology. The cherry comparison is simply a marketing metaphor, not commentary on current events or political figures.