Life, 1926-04-22 · page 4 of 40
Life — April 22, 1926 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **advertisement for the Mimeograph machine**, published in *Life* magazine. The page uses the metaphor "What is a Key?" to promote the Mimeograph as a business tool. The advertisement argues that a key only has value when used; similarly, the Mimeograph becomes valuable by enabling access to "business and educational opportunities" and providing "economy." The ad emphasizes the machine's practical benefits: it cheaply produces thousands of printed copies without requiring skilled operators, making it an essential office device for efficiency. The image shows the actual Mimeograph machine itself—a drum duplicator typical of early-to-mid twentieth-century office equipment. This represents early marketing strategy using *Life*'s editorial space for commercial messaging.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pik Be — A KEY? WHAT IS | In itself a key is merely a means to an end. It serves no good purpose until it is put into service. Then it becomes either an opener to something valued, or a safeguard. In an exact sense the Mimeograph is a key that opens many doors to business and educational opportunities. And it is ever a safeguard to economy. As the world’s standard duplicator of all kinds of let- ters, bulletins, forms, diagrams, etc., it has proven itself a necessary part of the equipment of eff- ciency. Its hourly grist is thousands of well printed copies, done at almost negligible cost, without highly trained skill, and privately. Let us show you how the Mimeograph will open the way to new and better conditions for you. A request to the A. B. Dick Company, Chicago, for booklet “W-4” will bring complete information, without obligation. MIMEOGRAPH SSNINCOSKATH comichooksicem