Life, 1920-04-08 · page 6 of 44
Life — April 8, 1920 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Mimeograph machine advertisement** from Life magazine (page 646), not a political cartoon. The ad uses a rhetorical hook about Napoleon to sell the Mimeoscope—an attachment for Mimeograph machines that allowed users to reproduce drawings, diagrams, and designs alongside typewritten text. The opening invokes Napoleon's military defeat, claiming the Austrians didn't value "ten minutes"—likely a reference to rapid communication or information dissemination. The ad argues that visual communication ("an idea well pictured") is powerful and efficient. The small photograph shows someone using the device. This is essentially **commercial messaging masquerading as editorial content**, common in early 20th-century magazines. The Napoleon reference is merely a catchy sales hook, not political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Picture-power! Could you tell how - Napoleon looked if you had never seen his likenessP That new plan or design of yours—can you by mere words get other people to visualize itP You can quickly and easily put pictures or designs in your letters, bulletins, instruction sheets, etc., if you use the Mimeoscope, a simple contrivance which tremendously extends the usefulness of the Mimeograph. With it drawings, pictures, electrical and mechanical diagrams, designs, maps, plans, forms, etc., are traced upon the Der- matype stencil and speedily printed. No especial experience or skill required. Typewritten matter and drawings duplicated in one operation on the same sheet. No expensive plates, no type forms to set. Five thousand well-printed sheets an hour— and no time wasted in getting ready. Napoleon defeated the Aus- trians because, he said, they did not know the value of ten minutes. Here is an hour and a dollar saver. An idea well pictured is rarely forgotten. Booklet ‘‘W"’ tells you all about the Mimeoscope and the Mimeograph. A. B. Dick Company, Chicago—and New York. NINES APH comicbooks.com