In 1914–16, the
A.B. Dick Company
The A. B. Dick Company (later stylized as ABDick) was a major American manufacturer of copy machines and office supplies in the late 19th century and 20th centuries.
Founding and growth
The company was founded in 1883 in Chicago as a lumber compa ...
patented the mimeoscope. A mimeoscope, which is basically a
light table, had an electrically illuminated glass top on which the operator traced drawings onto
mimeograph stencils. The stencil took the place of
tracing paper
Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. It was originally developed for architects and design engineers to create drawings that could be copied precisely using the diazo copy process; it then found ma ...
. The electric light was needed because the stencils were heavier and less transparent than tracing paper.
Mimeoscopes were used for a lot of illustrations and in promotional work as well. Designs, maps, and plans could be easily drawn and copied for quick production and distribution. Customers could add these visuals to their instructions or announcements. Those who did not have time to read the entire document would still be able to look at it and quickly know what it was about.
References
External links
Shannon Johnson's Mimeoscope Page
American inventions
Printing devices
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