Illustrating Webster: Caliduct

This panel defines a technical term through visual demonstration. A caliduct—a tube or pipe used to convey hot air or steam—stands mounted on a pedestal, with directional lines suggesting air flow radiating outward. The "Illustrating Webster" series ran in newspapers as an educational feature, pairing dictionary definitions with drawings that made abstract or technical language concrete and memorable. Such strips were among the earliest recurring instructional comics in American newspapers, pioneering the use of sequential art and labeled diagrams for public instruction. The bold line work and clear mechanical rendering reflect the graphic efficiency required for newspaper reproduction in the early twentieth century.