THE TYPEWRITER.
OLD ENGLISH TYPEWRITER OF 1714--THE BURT TYPEWRITER OF 1829--
PROGIN’S FRENCH MACHINE OF 1833--THURBER’S PRINTING MACHINE OF
1843--THE BEACH TYPEWRITER--THE SHOLES TYPEWRITER, THE FIRST OF THE
MODERN FORM, COMMERCIALLY DEVELOPED INTO THE REMINGTON--THE
CALIGRAPH--SMITH-PREMIER--THE BOOK TYPEWRITER AND OTHERS.
Occupying an intermediate place between the old-fashioned scribe and the
printer, the typewriter has in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century
established a distinct and important avocation, and has become a
necessary factor in modern business life. Chirography, or hand writing,
reflecting, as it did, the idiosyncrasies of each writer, was not only
slow, but when employed was, in most cases, in the haste and press of
active business reduced to an illegible scrawl. For the use of reporters
and others requiring extra speed, stenography, or short hand, was
resorted to, but there was a distinct need for some easy, quick,
legible, and uniform record of the busy man’s correspondence and copy
work, and this the modern typewriter has supplied.
Like most other important inventions, the typewriter did not spring into
existence all at once, for while the practical embodiment in really
useful machines has only taken place since about 1868, there had been
many experiments and some success attained at a much earlier date. The
British patent to Henry Mills. No. 395 of 1714, is the earliest record
of efforts in this direction. At this early date no drawings were
attached to patents, and the specification dwells more on the function
of the machine than the instrumentalities employed. No record of the
construction of this machine remains in existence, and it may fairly be
considered a lost art. In quaint and old-fashioned English, the patent
specification proceeds as follows:
“_ANNE_, by the grace of God, &c., to all whom these presents shall
come, greeting: _WHEREAS_, our trusty and well-beloved subject, Henry
Mills, hath by his humble peticon represented vnto vs, that he has by
his greate study, paines, and expence, lately invented, and brought to
perfection “_An Artificial Machine_ or _Method_ for the _Impressing_ or
_Transcribing Letters Singly_ or _Progressively_ one after another as in
_Writing_, whereby all _Writing whatever_ may be _Engrossed_ in _Paper_
or _Parchment_ so _Neat_ and _Exact_ as not to be Distinguished from
_Print_, that the said _Machine_ or Method, may be of greate vse in
_Settlements_ and _Publick Recors_, the Impression being deeper and more
Lasting that any other _Writing_, and not to be erased, or
_Counterfeited_ without _Manifest Discovery_, and having therefore
humbly prayed vs to grant him our Royall Letters Patents, for the sole
vse of his said Invention for the term of fourteen yeares.”
“_Know Yee_, that wee,” etc.
The first American typewriter of which any record remains is that
described in the patent granted to W. A. Burt, July 23, 1829. It was
called a “Typographer.” It had a segment bearing the letters of the
alphabet and corresponding notches acting as an index. A superposed
lever, which could be worked up and down, and also moved laterally, was
provided with a series of type, arranged in a segmental curve, so that
any type could be brought into place on the subjacent paper by swinging
the lever over to and down into the proper notch in the index segment
below. A restored model of this is to be found in the U. S. Patent
Office.
[Illustration: FIG. 135.--FRENCH TYPEWRITER, 1833.]
The first organized typewriter in which separate key levers were
provided for each type is a French invention. It is to be found in the
French patent to M. Progin (Xavier), of Marseilles, No. 3,748, Sept. 6,
1833 (Brevets d’Invention, Vol. 37, 1st Series, pl. 36). It was called a
Typographic Machine, and is shown in the illustration (Fig. 135).
Upright key levers _s_ are arranged in a circle around a circular plate
_n_. They have hook-shaped handles at the upper end, and terminate
below in forks that are pivoted to the shanks of type hammers, to raise
and lower them. These hammers are inked from a pad, and at a central
point deliver a printing blow on the paper below. The paper is held
stationary, and the whole nest of levers was moved over the paper for
each letter printed. The circular index plate _n_ had marked on it
opposite the respective levers the letters and characters represented by
said levers. Besides printing letters, the device was to be used for
printing music, and for making stereotype plates.
[Illustration: FIG. 136.--THURBER TYPEWRITER.]
On Aug. 26, 1843, Charles Thurber, of Worcester, Mass., took out Pat.
No. 3,228 for a Printing Machine. Under the patent he constructed the
machine shown in Fig. 136. This differed somewhat from the form shown in
his patent, in that the machine shows a paper feed roller which does not
appear in the patent. This machine was found among the effects of Mr.
Thurber after having lain neglected and unnoticed for many years, and
its damaged parts were restored by Mr. H. R. Cummings, of Worcester. The
types are carried on the lower ends of a circular series of depressible
bars, which are spring seated in a horizontal rotatable wheel. By
turning the wheel any type can be brought to the front, and a stationary
guide controls its descent as it makes the impression. An inking roller
is seen on the right, which inks the faces of the type. In front of the
type wheel is a horizontal roller to which the sheet of paper is
attached by clips. Finger pawls, working into ratchets at the ends of
the roller, serve to rotate it after each line is printed. By means of a
handle, seen projecting from the right hand side of the frame, the
roller is shifted longitudinally on its axis rod after each letter has
been printed. This appears to be the first embodiment of the feed roller
rotating to bring a new line into range, and having also a longitudinal
feed, but as these movements were required to be separately executed by
the operator, the work of the machine was necessarily very slow. Just at
what time this old Thurber machine was constructed it is impossible to
state in the light of present information, but as the feed roller did
not appear in Thurber’s patent of 1843, it is possible that the claim to
authorship of the feed roller having both a rotary and a longitudinal
movement may be maintained in behalf of J. Jones, whose Pat. No. 8,980
of June 1, 1852, appears to be the first dated record of such a feed
roller. Jones was also the first to provide a spring to automatically
retract the paper carriage to the position for beginning a new line, the
spring being put under tension by the movement of the paper carriage in
printing.
[Illustration: FIG. 137.--BEACH TYPEWRITER.]
Prominent among those whose genius has served to perfect the typewriter
occurs the name of A. E. Beach, for many years of the firm of Munn &
Co., and well known to the readers of the _Scientific American_. Mr.
Beach’s first model of a typewriter was made in 1847. It printed upon a
sheet of paper supported on a roller, carried in a sliding frame worked
by a ratchet and pawl. It had a weight for running the frame, letter and
line spacing keys, paper feeding devices, line signal bell, and carbon
tissue. It had a series of finger keys connected with printing levers
which were arranged in a circle, and struck at a common center. This
machine was said to have worked well, but was laid aside for further
improvement. In the meantime he constructed a typewriter to print in
raised letters, without ink. This machine, which was intended primarily
for the use of the blind, is illustrated in Figs. 137 and 138. It was
first publicly exhibited in operation at the Crystal Palace Exhibition
of the American Institute in the fall of 1856, where it attracted great
attention and took the gold medal. The embossed letters were printed on
a ribbon of paper which ran centrally through the machine. The printing
levers were arranged in a circle in pairs, one riding on the top of the
other. When the operator pressed a key, the two printing levers of each
pair answering to the letter key were brought together, the paper being
between them. The printing type were at the extremities of the levers,
one lever having a raised letter, and its mate a sunken or intaglio
letter, which, seizing the paper strip between them, like the jaws of a
pair of pincers, impressed therein an embossed letter. The patent for
this machine was granted June 24, 1856, No. 15,164, but the machine
showed a much higher degree of development than appeared in the patent.
This machine was the earliest representative of the circular basket of
radially swinging type levers, combined with finger keys assembled in a
keyboard at one side, which is now an almost universal feature, and the
suggestion which it handed down to subsequent inventors has doubtless
done much to make the typewriter the practical machine that it is
to-day.
[Illustration: FIG. 138.--CENTRAL SECTION OF BEACH TYPEWRITER.]
Up to the year 1868, however, typewriting machines were mere
illustrations of sporadic genius occuring here and there as the pet
hobby of some humanitarian seeking to help the blind, or supplement the
deficiencies of the tremulous fingers of the paralytic. It had not yet
come to be regarded as of any special use, nor had even the demand for
such a device been forcibly felt, until the last quarter of the
Nineteenth Century began to accumulate its wonderful momentum of
progress and prosperity. The man whose genius finally brought forth a
practical typewriter, and made a permanent place for it in the daily
business of the world, was C. Latham Sholes. As joint inventor with C.
Glidden and S. W. Soule, all of Milwaukee, he took out patents No.
79,265, of June 23, 1868, and No. 79,868, of July 14, 1868. These,
together with Sholes’ Pat. No. 118,491, of Aug. 29, 1871, formed the
working basis of the first typewriters that went into office use. These
typewriters were first introduced to the general public under the
management of the original inventors (Sholes, Soule and Glidden) about
1873, and at first used only capital letters. On Aug. 27, 1878, a
further patent. No. 207,559, was granted to Sholes, and about this time,
after five years of uncertain and precarious business existence, the
machine was taken for manufacture to E. Remington & Sons, at Ilion, N.
Y. Since this time the well-known “Remington” has built up for itself a
reputation and a commercial importance that has given it first place
among typewriters. In the nine years from 1873 to 1882, it is said that
less than 8,000 machines had been manufactured. In the year 1882
Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict obtained control of the machine, and during
the fourteen years following it is said that nearly 200,000 “Remingtons”
were made and sold. It is said that 1,000 men are now employed in
making this machine, and that the present output is about 800 machines a
week, despite the fact that it has a half dozen worthy competitors for
public favor. The modern Remington, seen in Fig. 139, is too well known
to require special description. Besides the Sholes patents, it embodies
the improvements covered by patents to Clough & Jenne, No. 199,263, Jan.
15, 1878; Jenne, No. 478,964, July 12, 1892, and No. 548,553, Oct. 22,
1895, and also a patent to Brooks, No. 202,923, April 30, 1878, a
characteristic feature of which latter is the location of both a capital
and small letter on the same striking lever, and the shifting of the
paper roller by a key to bring either the large or small letter into
printing range.
[Illustration: FIG. 139.--REMINGTON TYPEWRITER.]
The earliest rival of the Remington was the Caligraph, made by the
American Writing Machine Co. This well-known machine, introduced in the
decade of the eighties, was made under the patents of G. Y. N. Yost,
March 18, 1884, No. 295,469; March 17, 1885, No. 313,973; and July 30,
1889, No. 408,061. The most modern form of the Caligraph is known as the
“New Century,” which is shown in the accompanying illustration, Fig.
140. The Caligraph uses a separate type lever and key for each letter,
and by a system of compound key levers the touch is rendered easy, even,
and elastic, and perfect alignment and freedom from noise are among the
objects sought in its mechanical construction.
[Illustration: FIG. 140.--NEW CENTURY CALIGRAPH.]
Next among the earlier typewriters is to be mentioned the “Hammond,”
made under the patents to J. B. Hammond, No. 224,088, Feb. 8, 1880, and
290,419, Dec. 18, 1883. A distinguishing feature of the machine is that
the printed work is in full view, so that the operator can see what he
is doing. The impression is made by an oscillating type wheel, to which
a variable throw is imparted by the key letters to bring any desired
letter into printing position. When the letter is brought into printing
position a hammer, arranged in the rear of the sheet of paper, is made
to force the latter against the type to produce the impression by the
same movement of the key that brought the type wheel into printing
position.
[Illustration: FIG. 141.--SMITH-PREMIER TYPE BAR RING.]
Of later machines, none has met with more popular favor than the
Smith-Premier, manufactured under the patent to A. T. Brown, No.
465,451, Dec. 22, 1891, and others. A leading feature of this is the
type-bar ring of its printing mechanism. In all typewriters accurate
location of the impression is essential to proper alignment of the
letters, and proper alignment is the _sine qua non_ of typewriting. The
old pivoted type bars were liable to wear at the joint, and the
slightest looseness at this point would so multiply the lateral play at
the end carrying the type that the letters would soon become irregularly
placed and out of alignment. In the Smith-Premier this is reduced to a
minimum by making a short type bar, and arranging each upon an
oscillating rock shaft, the bearings at whose ends are so widely
separated as to permit little or no lateral play in the type bar. A view
of this type bar ring with tangentially arranged rock shafts disposed in
circular series is seen in Fig. 141, while the full machine is given in
Fig. 142. In this latter view there is also shown the cleaning brush for
quickly cleaning at one operation all of the types of the outer ring. It
is simply a circular brush mounted upon the end of a tool resembling a
carpenter’s brace, and is a useful and convenient adjunct to the
machine.
[Illustration: FIG. 142.--SMITH-PREMIER AND CLEANING BRUSH.]
In 1891 the “Densmore” typewriter first made its appearance before the
public. It was named after James and Amos Densmore, who had been
connected with typewriting interests from the time of Sholes’ first
practical machine. The Densmore is made under patents to A. Densmore,
No. 507,726 and 507,727, of Oct. 31, 1893. It has ball-bearing type bar
joints, giving accurate alignment and light key action, the platen rolls
to show the work, and the carriage locks at the end of the line,
protecting the writing.
Noted for its clear, sharp print, the “Yost” typewriter comes in for its
share of praise. It is made under the patent to Felbel and Steiger,
March 26, 1889, No. 400,200. It does not employ an inked ribbon
interposed between the type and the paper, as do most typewriters, but
its type-bearing levers, when at rest, occupy a position in which the
type are all arranged within and bear against a circular inking ring or
pad, and when a key is struck, its lever, by a peculiar and ingenious
movement, leaves the inking pad, moves inward and backward toward the
center, and then rises and strikes an upwardly directed blow in the
center, and prints the letter on the paper. As the printing is done
directly from the type, the letters are formed with sharp and clear
outlines that give beauty and neatness to the print. Alignment is
insured by a center guide hole through which the type end of the lever
passes in striking the paper.
Among machines of simple organization may be mentioned the
Blickensderfer, which is a wonderfully simple and effective little
machine, first made under the patent to Blickensderfer, No. 472,692,
April 12, 1892. Like the Hammond, it belongs to the class of typewriters
which employ a rotary type wheel, which is given a variable throw, from
the depression of the keys, to bring the proper letter into printing
position; but unlike the Hammond, its type wheel advances to contact
with the paper, a little felt ink-roller being brought into contact with
the type wheel to ink it as the latter moves. The printed work is in
full view, the line spacing may be varied to any fractional adjustment,
and the action is quite free from noise. With its mechanism reduced to
the fewest and simplest parts, the whole machine weighs only six pounds,
and it differs in many respects from the ordinary typewriter. Since its
introduction a few years ago, its growth in popularity has been very
rapid.
Another recently appearing machine is the “Oliver.” This has type bars
which are normally above the work. Each bar is loop shaped, hinged at
its lower ends, and bearing the type letter on the bend at the upper
end. They are arranged in two series, one on each side of the center,
and in printing each loop swings down like the wing of a bird. As the
printing is from the top, and the ribbon is moved away from in front of
the line immediately after the printing blow, the writing is always
visible to the operator. This machine is manufactured under various
patents to Thomas Oliver, the first of which was No. 450,107, granted
April 7, 1891. Further improvements are covered by subsequent patents,
Nos. 528,484, 542,275, 562,337, and 599,863. The Oliver has made many
friends for itself by its fine alignment and visible writing, and shares
with the other standard machines a considerable patronage.
It is not practicable to give a full illustration of the state of the
art in typewriters, as it has grown to an industry of large proportions.
Nearly 1,700 patents have been granted for such machines, and more than
100 useful and meritorious machines have been devised and put upon the
market. Among these may be mentioned the Hall, Underwood, Manhattan,
Williams, Jewett, and many others.
[Illustration: FIG. 143.--ELLIOTT & HATCH BOOK TYPEWRITER.]
Besides the regular typewriters, various modifications have been made to
suit special kinds of work. The “Comptometer” used in banks is a species
of typewriter, as is also the Dudley adding and subtracting machine,
known as the “Numerograph,” and covered by patents Nos. 554,993,
555,038, 555,039, 579,047 and 579,048. Typewriters for short hand
characters, and for foreign languages, and for printing on record and
blank books, are also among the modern developments of this art. In the
latter the whole carriage and system of type levers move over the book.
The Elliott & Hatch book typewriter, Fig. 143, is a well-known example.
In attachments, holders for the copy have received considerable
attention, and simple and practical billing and tabulating attachments
have been devised which expedite and facilitate the statements of
accounts and other work requiring numeration in columns. The Gorin
Tabulator is one of those in practical use.
In point of speed the typewriter depends entirely upon the aptness of
the operator. For ordinary copying work, where much time is occupied in
deciphering the illegible scrawl, probably forty words a minute is the
average work. When taken from dictation, seventy-five words a minute may
be written, and in special cases, when copying from memory, a speed of
150 words a minute has been maintained for a limited time. It was
estimated that there were in use in the United States in 1896 150,000
typewriters, and that up to that time 450,000 had been made altogether.
In the last four years this number has been greatly increased, and a
fair estimate of the present output in the United States is between
75,000 and 100,000 yearly. In 1898 there were exported from the United
States typewriting machines to the value of $1,902,153.
The typewriter has not only revolutionized modern business methods, by
furnishing a quick and legible copy that may be rapidly taken from
dictation, and also at the same time a duplicate carbon copy for the use
of the writer, but it has established a distinct avocation especially
adapted to the deftness and skill of women, who as bread winners at the
end of the Nineteenth Century are working out a destiny and place in the
business activities of life unthought of a hundred years ago. The
typewriter saves time, labor, postage and paper; it reduces the
liability to mistakes, brings system into official correspondence, and
delights the heart of the printer. It furnishes profitable amusement to
the young, and satisfactory aid to the nervous and paralytic. All over
the world it has already traveled--from the counting house of the
merchant to the Imperial Courts of Europe, from the home of the new
woman in the Western Hemisphere to the harem of the East--everywhere its
familiar click is to be heard, faithfully translating thought into all
languages, and for all peoples.