Life, 1926-05-20 · page 4 of 44
Life — May 20, 1926 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or editorial content**. It's a full-page ad for the Mimeograph machine by the A.B. Dick Company of Chicago. The ad uses the headline "WHEN AN IDEA EXPLODES" and features an image of the mimeograph machine itself. The accompanying text argues that good ideas often fail because people lack tools to act on them quickly. The mimeograph, the ad claims, solves this by rapidly duplicating documents—letters, forms, bulletins, diagrams—at minimal cost and without requiring skilled operators. The pitch targets busy businessmen by positioning the mimeograph as a "private printing plant" that enables fast implementation of ideas. A booklet "W-5" is offered upon request. This reflects early-20th-century concerns about efficiency and modern business technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHEN AN IDEA EXPLODES To nearly every man of affairs in the world today there often comes, sharply and clearly, an idea that is loaded with great possibilities. And too often that idea is forever lost, because there are not at hand the necessary tools to put it into instant action. The Mimeograph is the superlative disseminator of ideas. With re- markable speed it duplicates all kinds of letters, forms, bulletins, announcements, diagrams, etc., at almost negligible cost. Distinctly clear, well printed copies, it turns out, many thousands an hour, and without the need of highly trained operators. It brings to the busy man a private printing plant, ever ready for instant action. An interesting booklet “W-5”—sent by the A. B. Dick Company, Chicago, upon request—points the way to a great saving of time and money by speedily putting ideas to work. MIMEOGRAPH comicbooks.com