Life — April 1, 1920 — page 41: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is **primarily advertising**, not editorial content or satire. The main elements are: 1. **Gas company coupons and bills** (top) — household utility documents from Consolidated Gas Company of New York, promoting "holiday gifts" 2. **A telegram** (center) — a business communication from April 15, 1916, to J.S. Duncan at Addressograph Co. in Chicago, discussing clerical staffing needs across multiple departments. The telegram notes they currently use 41 clerks and would need approximately 300 more without an addressograph machine. 3. **Addressograph advertisement** (bottom) — promoting their machine as a time-saving, labor-reducing device that could handle addressing tasks faster than manual clerks. The headline claims "Saves 259 Clerks!" **The point**: This is an integrated advertisement using a fake telegram to demonstrate the Addressograph machine's practical business value by showing how many clerical workers it could replace—a sales pitch to efficiency-conscious corporate managers of the era.