Life — April 18, 1930 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Mimeograph machine, manufactured by the A.B. Dick Company of Chicago. The ad's headline "LUCK IN BUSINESS" frames the mimeograph as a competitive advantage. The text argues that while success requires luck, having the right equipment—specifically mimeographing technology—gives businesses an edge in "strenuous competition." The machine pictured appears to be a mimeograph apparatus. The ad emphasizes the device's speed, accuracy, and economy, highlighting its ability to mass-produce sales letters, bulletins, charts, and other business documents "with unmatched dispatch." It mentions newer stencil technologies (Mimeotype and Cellotype) as cost-saving innovations. For a modern reader: this represents early 20th-century office automation marketing—positioning a copying/printing machine as essential business equipment.