Life — March 22, 1929 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is an **advertisement, not a political cartoon**. It promotes the Mimeograph machine, manufactured by the A.B. Dick Company of Chicago. The ad uses military metaphor to sell the device to business audiences. It describes the mimeograph as a "weapon of offense" and "fighting tool" for various professionals—storekeepers, managers, factory superintendents, and railway officials. The language frames business competition in wartime terms, comparing commercial document distribution to military conquest. The photograph shows an actual mimeograph machine, the era's primary office duplicating technology. The ad emphasizes speed, low cost, and minimal skill required—key selling points for early 20th-century businesses seeking efficiency. This reflects how rapidly the mimeograph became essential to American commerce.