Life, 1921-04-14 · page 4 of 36
Life — April 14, 1921 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Mimeograph machine by A.B. Dick Company of Chicago and New York. The ad uses an analogy comparing grape production to document reproduction: just as each grape in a bunch is unique, each mimeograph impression is an original (unlike copies from other methods). The accompanying photograph shows purple grapes on a vine. The advertisement emphasizes the Mimeograph's cost-effectiveness and speed—producing 40,000 copies daily at "negligible cost." It highlights applications for "commercial and educational institutions" and claims the device saves "millions of dollars" and "countless measures of time." The ad directs readers to request booklet "W-4" for more information. This is straightforward product marketing from the early-to-mid 20th century.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Every grape in the purple bunch is an original. And there are no copies in the white stack of beautifully printed sheets, as it comes from the Mimeograph; every impression is an original. That is why the Mimeo- graph, in careful hands, does neatly and exactly its remarkable work. Five thousand impressions of a typewritten letter or form, all more nearly alike than grapes from the same stem, it produces in an hour— forty thousand a day—at negligible cost. Designs, plans, cartoons, etc., are easily traced on the same stencil and printed in the one operation—thereby eliminating cost of expensive cuts. The Mimeograph is saving millions of dollars, and countless measures of time, for the com- mercial and educational institutions of America. Let us Get booklet “W-4” show you how it will save for you. from A. B. Dicks Company, Chicago—and New York. comicbooks.com