Life, 1920-06-10 · page 29 of 44
Life — June 10, 1920 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satire or cartoon content. It promotes the Addressograph, a mechanical device for printing addresses on mail and forms. The ad features: - **Roger W. Babson**, head of the Babson Statistical Organization, quoted claiming direct advertising via the Addressograph accounts for 75% of his sales and costs 79% less than other advertising methods - **A photograph** showing the machine in use: a woman operating the device while a boy and man observe stacks of addressed materials - **The pitch**: The Addressograph automatically fills names/addresses on letters, envelopes, postcards, and shipping materials 15 times faster than handwriting or typing, with uniform neatness and no errors For modern readers: This represents early **20th-century direct mail marketing technology**—the predecessor to modern mailing lists and bulk mail automation. The ad emphasizes efficiency gains and cost savings that would appeal to businesses doing mass mailings, positioning mechanical addressing as a competitive advantage.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Addressograph Helps Make 75% of Our Sales!”— Babson ABSON’S selling cost with Direct Advertising is 79 per cent cheaper than with any other form of advertising or selling! Could there be a finer compliment to the pulling power of Direct Advertis- ing—or a more striking testimony of the Addressograph features that make it Direct? People ay ° irculars. Yo .| em if you tell them— Roger W. Babson | ople today do read circulars. You can sell them if you tell ther of the Babson Statistical Organization quickly—often. Courtesy “Direct Advertising” . . : So put your prospects’ names on the Addressograph—‘‘ The Card Index that Addresses Itself On All Forms.” Fills in names on letters—addresses envelopes, postcards, salesmen’s report forms, record cards, shipping labels, tags, invoices, etc.—all 15 times faster than pen or typewriter. All with uniform “ typewritten ” neatness—all without errors or omissions. Can you afford to overlook such advantages? Addressogfaph. TRACE MARK 7:6 W. Van Buren St. i 743-J6 Broad: Chicago, Ilinois roadway New York comicbooks.com