Life, 1921-07-07 · page 4 of 34
Life — July 7, 1921 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **a commercial advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Mimeograph machine, manufactured by A.B. Dick Company of Chicago and New York. The image shows a muscular man in an athletic pose, illustrating the metaphor of "speed in any race." The ad argues that the Mimeograph's mechanical efficiency—its simple, sturdy design and direct method—allows it to produce copies faster than competitors: "five thousand exact impressions of a typewritten sheet within an hour." The advertisement claims this speed advantage helps businesses duplicate letters, bulletins, and designs economically, and invites readers to request booklet "W-7" for more information. This reflects early 20th-century office technology marketing, positioning mechanical efficiency 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.
Speed in any race is dependent upon a fundamental soundness. The great speed at which the Mimeograph delivers excellently printed copies is due to a remarkable fitness—in method and construction. The Mimeo- graph mechanism is simple, and therefore sturdily efficient. The method is direct, and therefore quick and economical. There is no other way to get five thousand exact impressions of a typewritten sheet within an hour—and forty thousand a day thereafter, if needed. The Mimeograph holds a far lead in world sales because it is the speediest means of duplicating letters, bulletins, tags, designs, plans, etc., at small cost and in clean-cut form. Let us show you how it will save money for you—just as it is saving for thousands of others. Get booklet “W-7” today. A. B. Dick Company, Chicago—and New York. NINESSRAPH comicbooks.com