Life, 1920-05-06 · page 12 of 56
Life — May 6, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Mimeograph machine advertisement**, not political satire. The image shows an archer drawing a bow—a visual metaphor for precision and speed. The ad compares the mimeograph to archery: "Zing—to a thousand targets!" The mimeograph is pitched as a business tool for rapid document reproduction—announcements, sales letters, maps, bulletins, and diagrams—capable of producing "five thousand reproductions an hour." The ad emphasizes its efficiency compared to typewriters and salesmen ("single shots"), positioning it as a revolutionary duplicating technology. The A.B. Dick Company is promoting their mimeograph by contrasting traditional one-off communication methods with this machine's ability to "spread your story" to "unnumbered thousands" simultaneously and cost-effectively. This reflects early-20th-century enthusiasm for office technology and mass communication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Zing —to a thousand targets! The type- writer and the salesman are single shots, while the Mimeograph is a swift, business weapon, hitting bull’s-eyes in thousands of places simultaneously. An important announce- ment, an urgent sales letter, maps, bulletins, diagrams, etc., sent at maximum speed and minimum cost. Five thousand reproductions an hour—and fine, clean-cut reproductions they are. A thin sheet of dark-blue paper has revolutionized duplicating methods. See the dermatype stencil in operation. You do not know the Mimeograph if you have not seen the new Mimeograph. Spread your story. Get it directly to the people you want to reach. The Mimeograph is a swift deliverer of timely messages for unnum- bered thousands of forereaching institutions throughout the civilized world. Why not find out what it can do for you—today? Get book- let ‘‘W-5” from A. B. Dick Company, Chicago—and New York. comicbooks.com