The concept of a typewriter dates back at least to 1714, when
Transcription
The concept of a typewriter dates back at least to 1714, when
THE TYPEWRITER WEBSITE Content Organization A BRIEF HISTORY The concept of a typewriter dates back at least to 1714, when Englishman Henry Mill filed a vaguely‐worded patent for "an artificial machine or method for the impressing or transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another." But the first typewriter proven to have worked was built by the Italian Pellegrino Turri in 1808 for his blind friend Countess Carolina Fantoni da Fivizzono (as established by Michael Adler in his excellent 1973 book The Writing Machine); unfortunately, we do not know what the machine looked like, but we do have specimens of letters written by the Countess on it. Numerous inventors in Europe and the U.S. worked on typewriters in the 19th century, but successful commercial production began only with the "writing ball" of Danish pastor Malling Hansen (1870). This well‐engineered device looked rather like a pincushion. Nietzsche's mother and sister once gave him one for Christmas. He hated it. Much more influential, in the long run, was the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer, which began production in late 1873 and appeared on the American market in 1874. Christopher L. Sholes, a Milwaukee newspaperman, poet, and part‐time inventor, was the main creator of this machine. The Sholes & Glidden typed only in capital letters, and it introduced the QWERTY keyboard, which is very much with us today. The keyboard was probably designed to separate frequently‐used pairs of typebars so that the typebars would not clash and get stuck at the printing point. The S&G was a decorative machine, boasting painted flowers and decals. It looked rather like a sewing machine, as it was manufactured by the sewing machine department of the Remington arms company. For an in‐depth look at this historic device, visit Darryl Rehr's Web site "The First Typewriter." The Sholes & Glidden had limited success, but its successor, the Remington, soon became a dominant presence in the industry. The Sholes & Glidden, like many early typewriters, is an understroke or "blind" writer: the typebars are arranged in a circular basket under the platen (the printing surface) and type on the bottom of the platen. This means that the typist (confusingly called a "typewriter" herself in the early days) has to lift up the carriage to see her work. Another example of an understroke typebar machine is the Caligraph of 1880, the second typewriter to appear on the American market. This Caligraph has a "full" keyboard ‐‐ separate keys for lower‐ and upper‐case letters. Click here to read more about the Caligraph. The Smith Premier (1890) is another example of a full‐keyboard understroke typewriter which was very popular in its day. Click here to read more and see the machine. The QWERTY keyboard came to be called the "Universal" keyboard, as the alternative keyboards fought a losing battle against the QWERTY momentum. (For more on QWERTY and to learn why "QWERTY is cool," visit Darryl Rehr's site The QWERTY Connection.) But not all early typewriters used the QWERTY system, and many did not even type with typebars. Case in point: the ingenious Hammond, introduced in 1884. The Hammond came on the scene with its own keyboard, the two‐ row, curved "Ideal" keyboard ‐‐ although Universal Hammonds were also soon made available. The Hammond prints from a type shuttle ‐‐ a C‐shaped piece of vulcanized rubber. The shuttle can easily be exchanged when you want to use a different typeface. There is no cylindrical platen as on typebar typewriters; the paper is hit against the shuttle by a hammer. The Hammond gained a solid base of loyal customers. These well‐ engineered machines lasted, with a name change to Varityper and electrification, right up to the beginning of the word‐processor era. Other machines typing from a single type element rather than typebars included the gorgeous Crandall (1881) ... ... and the practical Blickensderfer. The effort to create a visible rather than "blind" machine led to many ingenious ways of getting the typebars to the platen. Examples of early visible writers include the Williams and the Oliver. The Daugherty Visible of 1891 was the first frontstroke typewriter to go into production: the typebars rest below the platen and hit the front of it. With the Underwood of 1895, this style of typewriter began to gain ascendancy. By the 1920s, virtually all typewriters were "look‐alikes": frontstroke, QWERTY, typebar machines printing through a ribbon, using one shift key and four banks of keys. The most popular model of early Underwoods, the #5, is still to be found everywhere. Let's return for a moment to the 19th century. The standard price for a typewriter was $100 ‐‐ comparable to the price of a good personal computer today. There were many efforts to produce cheaper typewriters. Most of these were index machines: the typist first points at a letter on some sort of index, then performs another motion to print the letter. Obviously, these were not heavy‐ duty office machines; they were meant for people of limited means who needed to do some occasional typing. An example is the "American" index typewriter, which sold for $5. Index typewriters survived into the 20th century as children's toys; one commonly found example is the "Dial" typewriter made by Marx Toys in the 1920s and 30s. REMINGTON TYPEWRITERS EVOLUTION Remington Standard #7 The No. 7 is probably the most commonly found of Remington's "blind" typewriters, about 250,000 having been sold. It differs from the No.6 primarily in the number of keys, having 42 vs the 6's 38. This #7 was probably intended for the domestic German‐speaking market. Indeed, the No.7 was originally intended as a variant of the No.6 fitted for foreign languages, the additional keys being necessary for diacritical marks, etc. Of course, other uses within the English language were soon found for the extra keys, and it wasn't long before the No.7 outpaced sales of the No.6 within the American market. Remington Junior The Junior stands out among Remingtons for how truly unusual it is compared with other Remingtons. Introduced the year after the infamous Union Typewriter Company trust was reorganized as Remington Typewriter Co., the Junior was actually manufactured at Smith‐Premier's factory in Syracuse, NY. In fact, the Junior shares many traits with the full‐keyboard Smith‐Premier No.10, and especially the Smith‐Premier Simplex, a stripped‐down No.10 that also debuted in 1914. Most notable of these is the placement of the ribbon spools behind the carriage in a vertical side‐by‐ side configuration. The spring drum is also oddly positioned, sitting perpendicular to the carriage with the cable passing down from the carriage along a pulley. The piece that looks like a winding key on a daisy is the spring‐tensioner. Note the extremely basic keyboard. A single set of shift keys, a rudimentary shift lock tab, and back space are the only keyboard controls. The margin release is a lever up on the carriage. A line‐spacing toggle behind the return lever is just about the only other amenity to be found. You may be surprised to find that this is a segment‐shifted machine. Though segment‐shift had been around for some time (since the L.C. Smith No.2), this is the first application of the technology in a double‐shifted keyboard that I am aware of. The type basket shifts down for capitals, and up for figures. Alhough small, the Junior is not a true portable. Many collectors refer to it as a "luggable". Remington Portable #1 The #1 Portable was the very first true portable typewriter in that it did not have to resort to tricks such as folding up or sacrificing a row of keys to reduce size. One of the most innovative features is its "pop‐up" typebars which are raised for use via a side lever and lay back flat for storage. Over half a million were made, making the #1 a fairly easy model for the beginning typewriter collector to find, and in my opinion no collection should be without this milestone in typewriter history. What makes this Portable #1 stand out from the rest is that it is a very early specimen. During its first year of production, The #1 was made in limited quantities, and had to be special‐ ordered; it could not be purchased from a typewriter dealer until October, 1921. During this time, several design elements were changed as Remington worked out the kinks of this rather experimental little machine. The machine above contains all of the very earliest features except the method used to secure it to its base. Remington Noiseless 7 The Model 7 was a larger version of the Noiseless Portable, a semi‐standard in the same vein as the Noiseless 8. It's more fully‐featured than the portable, yet small and light enough to easily put in a case and transport. They keyboard is outfitted for electrical engineering. It's original owner was an electrical engineer in the iron and steel field. I imagine his choice of career was inspired by his father's position as a director of the famous Reading Railroad. Remie Scout The Remie Scout was available in four different versions, giving collectors 32 possible combinations to look for! Additionally, they could be had in four different colors, such as this two‐tone blue Remie Scout. This particular model is the cheapest, lowest‐end of the four versions, and having no protective front frame around the keyboard. Though the option of a case was available for extra, it often came with just an oiled cloth cover. It's not surprising that so few survived. It was marketed as a "child's typewriter", though that was most likely a euphemism for "inexpensive". It sold for $19.95. Seventeen Sometimes alternately labeled "Model 17" or "No.17" or not labeled at all . The model debuted in 1939 and became the primary workhorse for government offices during WWII. In 1947, it was renamed the KMC (for Keyboard Margin Control). The model was discontinued in 1950. The story behind this bright red world traveler is that it was purchased by a serviceman at a PX on a US Army base in Turkey. It traveled with its owner to Korea, and eventually back to Minnesota, where it turned up in Minneapolis. Obviously, it's been repainted, and possibly rebuilt. The keys look like Smith‐Corona keys, but I have seen similar keys on later Remington standards; either way, they aren't original. The tag on front is for Roger A Podany's typewriter service, at 7 W Lake St, Minneapolis, who may have done the alterations. The site is now part of a K‐Mart parking lot. (Mr Podany, incidentally, is still alive and has been the proprieter of Office Equipment Warehouse, Inc since 1976.) Remington Quiet Riter Remington Super Riter The Super Riter is the direct descendant of the Seventeen and KMC models. Mechanically, all three are nearly identical under the shell. Noteably, the Super Riter seems to take a step backwards, abandoning the automatic margin set mechanism for old‐school manual margin sets behind the paper tray. The change may have been repercussions from the patent infringement lawsuit Royal won against both Remington and Smith‐Corona for ripping off Royal's Magin Margin system. Torpedo 18b The difference between the model 18 and 18b is that the 18b has a tabulator and the 18 does not. The Torpedo 18/18b was the last true Torpedo manufactured in Germany by Torpedo Buromaschinenwerke. The company, long partially held by Remington‐Rand, was by this time a wholly‐owned Remington subsidiary. After the 18/18b line ended in 1964, production was moved to Holland. Although the Torpedo name would be revived on a handful of later models, none matched the quality and precision for which the brand was legendary. Remington Holiday This inexpensive, Holland‐made portable represents the waning days of Remington's typewriter business.It is an extremely basic machine, with no tabs, paper support, or soundproofing. The case (and possibly the entire plastic housing) was made in Italy. The case (a top‐only design which snaps onto the bottom half of the typewriter) and shell are so similar to my Olivetti‐made Escort 55 that it would not surprise me if it was the same company. I wouldn't be surprised if the Holland factory which built this is the same one that built Royal's late portables. Remington 24 This critter is big. Really big. The wide platen that you might be thinking is 14" is really 20". The overall carriage length is 26". Look again and you'll see that there are five rows of keys‐‐the top row is a 10‐key decimal tabulator. Obviously, this machine was used for accounting work of some sort. It's fitted with Double Gothic typeface, which was popular for banking and check‐writing because of its legibility. One mechanical innovation of interest is a type impact control mechanism that transfers the keylever momentum via cam lever into a precise, uniform amount of energy to actuates the typebar. Think of the way that a camera delivers the exact proper amount of energy to activate the shutter for a predetermined amount of time, regardless of how quickly or slowly the user depresses the shutter release. The result is a snappy feel and uniform type impression. Surprisingly, the housing is made of plastic, and as you can see the ribbon cover doesn't fit quite right. One of the plastic tabs that holds it on is broken off. In spite of ample soundproofing material, it's about as loud as one would expect a plastic‐shelled standard to be, and the gargantuan carriage advancing thunkathunka only adds to the din. This is a machine for rattling the rafters. The excessive body size reminds me of the Royal Empress, and I wonder if, like the Empress, this wasn't an intentional strategy to be able to use the same housing on electrified models. WHO USED IT AND WHERE ? The typewriter was important at the time because it was the first quick and easy way to write a letter or message. It was and important invention for writers as well as business offices. When Remington & Sons started producing typewriters they had a specific idea in mind as to how the typewriter would be used. They had imagined that typewriters would be used for recording dictation, and that the typist would be a woman. A 1923 book on the early history of the typewriter, featured a portrait of Christopher Latham Sholes, inventor of the first production typewriter, as the savior of women. It is highly unlikely that Sholes consciously invented the typewriter with the intention of furthering women's liberation, but it is a fact that this office appliance had a major impact on office life in the western world. The typewriter gave women jobs in the office and an opportunity to work as freelance 'typewriters' in offices where a fulltime use for the machine wasn't feasible yet. In that sense the invention of the typewriter played a major role in eventually giving women economic power, an equal position in the labor force and a voice in business. But there was still a long way to go, as is illustrated by a sheer endless series of telltale postcards that appeared in the early 20th Century. One more explicitly than the other (pic 5), they all told the same story about the boss cheating his wife with his secretary. The same theme also appeared in several series of stereo view pictures, usually ending with the lovebirds being caught by the boss' wife. WHY IS IT OBSOLETE? There is one very simple reason why the typewriter is obsolete today: the invention of the computer. The use of typewriters started to decline after work on a new technology (the computer) started in the 1930s and 1940s. But it is not until the 1980s that the decline grew steeper, with the emergence of word processors, and personal computers. However, many modern writers and journalists still work with a typewriter. For example, Hunter S. Thompson used a typewriter to work until his death in 2005. Also, author Cormac McCarthy still uses a typewriter for all his writing. After World War II, the electric typewriter advanced in the office world, with the IBM 'golf ball' system as market leader (note that this system was basically invented by Blickensderfer in the 19th Century, and was perfected in the 1902 Blickensderfer Electric). Later still the electronic typewriter, the video writer and the word processor entered the market, pushing many producers of mechanical typewriters off the market. In the early 70s Varityper, the direct descendant of the 1881 Hammond, stopped production. The Remington name disappeared in the same decade. But even today, manual typewriters are produced and sold in small numbers to happy users around the world. History has not ended yet. The Olivetti Valentine. If there is one post‐1920s typewriter that deserves to be mentioned, it is the Olivetti Valentine, a design by Ettore Sottsass. This space‐age machine, that was built in 1970, can be found in many collections of industrial design. Mechanically, the machine is not fundamentally different from the average machine that was built half a century earlier. Today, Olivetti is the only Western company still producing manual typewriters. TYPEWRITER TYPEFACES There are many digital typefaces that are based on typewriter typefaces. The Remington standard 7 used the Fraktur typeface. The Remie Scout had caps‐only with a no‐nonsense, san‐serif typeface. The Remington 24 used the Double Gothic typeface, which was popular for banking and check‐ writing because of its legibility. RESOURCES Ribbons & Cleaning supplies • Tech Support Associates (TSA) carries a complete line of tools, parts, and supplies for modern office equipment. Of interest to the collector will be the selection of cleaning solvents and fabric ribbons. TSA also offers platen recovering service. Contact: Tech Support Associates, Ltd., 2070 Peachtree Industrial Court, Suite 102, Chamblee, GA 30341, Telephone: (404) 452‐8200, Fax Line: (404) 454‐6075, Order Toll Free: (800) 633‐6626. • Ames Supply Company carries a complete line of tools, parts, and supplies for modern office equipment. Of interest to the collector will be the selection of cleaning solvents and fabric ribbons. Ames also offers platen recovering service. Contact: Ames Supply Company, 2537 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515, Telephone: (630) 964‐2440, Fax Line: (630) 964‐0497, Order Toll Free: (800) 848‐8780. Hardware & Material • Luggage & Handbag Supply Co. is a source for coverings and other parts for repairing cases. Contact: Luggage & Handbag Supply Co., 248 East Arrow Highway, San Dimas, CA 91773‐3359, Telephone: (909) 394‐1213 or (909) 394‐1220. • Small Parts Inc. caries a broad range of precision hardware and materials. Contact: Small Parts Inc. 13980 N.W. 58th Court, P. O. Box 4650, Miami Lakes, FL 33014‐9727 Books in print A number of these can be ordered online at Amazon.com. Just click on the highlighted title to go straight to Amazon's page about that particular book. (To order more than one of these books: click on the first title in order to go to Amazon's page about the first book; click on "Add this book to your shopping basket"; click twice on your "back" button to return to this page; then click on the next title and repeat. When you have put all the books you want in your shopping basket, click on "Buy items now.") • Adler, Michael. Antique Typewriters, from Creed to QWERTY. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. $39.95. An exploration of early typewriters by the author of the classic The Writing Machine (see below). 208 pages with lots of color and black‐and‐white photos. Written in an entertaining tone with a sense of humor. Lots of information, but occasionally errors creep in. Includes price suggestions which are generally reliable, sometimes on the high side. This book is the most comprehensive typewriter history in English. I recommend it for any serious collector. • Blickensderfer, Robert and Paul Robert. The Five‐Pound Secretary. Virtual Typewriter Museum, 2003. A handsome book all about the great Blickensderfer, written in part by a descendant of its inventor. Follow the link to order the book. • Collector's Guide to Antique Typewriters. Reprint of The Typewriter Topics Encyclopedia of Typewriters (1923), published by the Post Group. This was long the bible for English‐ speaking typewriter collectors; it lists all major and most minor typewriters made up to 1923, and describes them in an entertaining if verbose manner. This reprint includes many reproductions of advertisements. Available from Office Machine Americana for $12.95. Also reprinted by Dover, edited by Victor Linoff (see below). • Current, Richard N. The Typewriter and the Men Who Made It. Reprint by the Post Group of a 1950s study of the invention of the Sholes & Glidden. Good reading. Available from Office Machine Americana for $17.95. • Dale, Rodney and Rebecca Weaver. Machines in the Office. Available in hardback and paperback . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. A short, popular book that covers typewriters, telegraphs, telephones, dictation machines, computers, and more. Gives you a sense of the context in which typewriters were invented. Entertaining, and includes many good illustrations. Information on typewriters is not very reliable, though. • James, Duncan. Old Typewriters. London: Shire Publications, 1993. Shire Album #293. $7.25. A small pamphlet that attractively presents the essentials of typewriter mechanisms and has some nice black‐and‐white photographs. Available on amazon.co.uk. • Linoff, Victor (ed). The Typewriter: An Illustrated History New York: Dover Publications, 2000. A reprint of the 1923 Typewriter Topics Encyclopedia of Typewriters. An important early source that includes lots of usually‐reliable data. The same book is available in a smaller format with reproductions of early advertisements, under the name Collector's Guide to Antique Typewriters (see above). • Mares, G.C. History of the Typewriter, Successor to the Pen. London: Guilbert Pitman, 1909. Reprinted by the Post Group. An excellent early "buyer's guide" to writing machines. Available from Office Machine Americana for $24.95. • Martin, Ernst (pseudonym of Johannes Meyer). Die Schreibmaschine und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte. 4th ed: Pappenheim, Bavaria, 1949. An outstanding, encyclopedic work. Plentiful illustrations make it worth looking at even if you don't know a word of German. A reprint produced by collector Leonhard Dingwerth may be available on amazon.de. • Quiring, Ed. This collector offers unbound copies of his Ph.D. dissertation on the history of the typewriter for $30 each including shipping. Dr. Ed E. Quiring, 1105 Stahlridge Street, Caldwell, ID 83605‐5678, phone 208‐459‐8239, e‐mail [email protected]. • Rehr, Darryl. Antique Typewriters & Office Collectibles. Collector Books, 1997. $19.95. This book by the former editor of the journal of the Early Typewriter Collectors Association is an invaluable guide, including detailed descriptions of hundreds of typewriters, illustrated with color photos. It is not exhaustive, and the estimates of value are generally agreed to be too low, but this is probably the first book the beginning typewriter collector should buy. You can order it directly from the author and get a free bonus: the new, expanded edition of "The Early History of the Typewriter" by Charles Weller. • Robert, Paul. Sexy Legs and Typewriters. Virtual Typewriter Museum, 2004. "Women in office‐ related advertising, humor, glamour, and erotica." A different sort of book, not for those who disapprove of "R"‐rated material. Follow the link to order the book. • Russo, Thomas. Mechanical Typewriters: Their History, Value, and Legacy. Schiffer Publishing, 2002. The latest book on typewriters, written by a former Remington man who has a fabulous collection. Not the best in terms of completeness or accuracy, but notable for fine photographs of Russo's machines, including some very unusual items. A separate chapter on Remingtons is probably the most complete account of that make in print. Value estimates are reasonable. By the same author: Office Collectibles: 100 Years of Business Technology. Both books are also available directly from the author: Russo & Associates, LLC, 1200 Philadelphia Pike, Suite 220, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA. • Webster, F. S. Company. Typewriters of All Kinds and Our Galaxy of Stars. This rare 196‐ page catalogue published in 1898 by the F. S. Webster Co. describes a wide variety of machines, services, and office supplies. Attractive and entertaining. Click on the link to order a print‐on‐demand reprint. LINKS http://www.typewritermuseum.org/collection/index.html http://www.portabletypewriters.co.uk/ http://hpricecpa.com/typewriters.html http://www.mytypewriter.com/explorelearn/links.html emmanuelle joyeux | defunct devices creative brief | 10.07.2010
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