Life, 1923-05-24 · page 4 of 42
Life — May 24, 1923 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. The page promotes the Mimeograph machine by A.B. Dick Company of Chicago. The ad compares book printing history to modern copying technology. It contrasts Gutenberg's printed book (shown in the ornamental oval illustration at top) as "a classic" with the mimeograph as bringing "the last word in economy." The pitch emphasizes the mimeograph's practical advantages: it duplicates letters, forms, diagrams, and plans cheaply and quickly without requiring skilled operators. The ad targets institutional buyers—"industrial and educational institutions throughout the world"—suggesting this was marketed to offices, schools, and organizations seeking affordable document reproduction before photocopiers existed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Se The first book was a classic, but the book of the Mimeograph brings the last word in economy Old Daddy Gutenberg made the earliest [printed book nearly five hundred years ago. It was also the finest book ever made. The art of printing was born in a high state of perfection. But the art of speedy and inex- pensive duplication came into the world with the Mimeograph. ‘We want you to see the book of the Mimeograph. It is not an elaborate and exhaustive affair. You can read it in minutes. It will make clear to you how the Mimeograph is saving remarkable amounts of both time and money in unnumbered thousands of in- dustrial and educational institu- tions throughout the world. It will show you how all kinds of letters,forms, blanks, diagrams, plans, etc., can be speedily dupli- cated,lunder your personal super- vision, and with unskilled hands, at almost negligible cost. It may indicate to you many ways by which you can greatly improve your own work and effect sub- stantial economies therein. Why not send a request for this interesting book “W-4” today? A. B. Dick Company, Chicago. comicbooks.com