McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1885-04-23
THE TYPEWRITER.
Mechanical Continuance with Unbounded
POpuIarity

Mechanical Continuance with Unbounded
Popularity.
The click of the typewriter is one
II the most familiar sounds to the fire.
1uenters of downtown offices. In
nearly every large Office one or more
If these little machines can be found
n constant use and they are still
| growing in popularity.
About ten years ago the first type
writer was Invented. 1t was patented
by two Detroit men who sold their
| lights to the machine, but drew a
loyalty on it for some years. One of
these men was printer by trade, and
.or years he had been experimenting
with writing machine to supplant
The pen. He first invented machine
.or numbering automatically the
pages of books such as ledgers.
When the typewriter was first upon
| ;he market it was crude machine,
very different from what it is to-day.
The foot was brought into operation
N it to pull back the carriage upon
which the paper was rolled, some
what like sewing machine. There
we're various other clumsy appliances
connected with it, and the machine
was regarded by the public more as
curiosity than as practical writing
instrument. a few large offices, how
| ever, began to use type-writers, and
The advantages of the instrument were
seen where a large number of mani
fold copies were required and it was
desirable to have a very plain and
easily decIphered copy. Improve
ments were made from time to time
was gradually being perfected it be-
came more and more popular.
Meantime its success prompted 9th
er inventors to apply themselves TO
the subject of writing machines. One
Of the first to come out was invented
in Sweden and patents obtained upon it
throughout Europe. The principle of
this typewriter was radically differ
ent from that of the American ma
chine. Instead of the type being ar
ranged in circular pocket and fly
ing up to hit the paper, in the for
eign machine the type and keys were
arranged like pins in pincushion
and the instrument was in the shape
of hemisphere. With the keys stick
ing out all over its surface it very
much resembled a porcupine. This
machine was very small and could
almost be carried in the pocket. It
had many advantages over the Ameri-
machine, and likewise many disad-
vantages.
Hardly had the foreign machine
been upon the market than another
American machine came out upon
some of the principles of the first
machine. the patents upon which had
expired. This was followed by anoth-
er on an altogether different plan,
the type being made of rubber and
all together on little pad.
When writing the letter is brought
over small hole in plate and
through this hits the paper, all the
other types at the same time taking
up supply of ink. On the other ma
chimes an mixed ribbon is brought be-
tween the type and the paper, and the
ink takes the shape of the letter pres
sing against it.
This was followed by still another
machine wherein the type, made on
hard rubber in the form of cylinder.
revolved in horizontal cavity and
the paper was driven up against the
type by the release of small hammer
every time a letter was struck. One
of the advantages of this latter ma
chine is that an infinite number of
characters can be used in it and type
for writing in German and other for
eign languages can be inserted at will.
A member of the Turkish Legation
in the United States not long ago ex-
pressed his admiration of the type
writer and his intention of having one
made that would write in the Turkish |
language. There are thirty-three
letters in this language and Hassin
Efendi made copy of them and gave
it to an engraver to make a set of |
letters for the typewriter. 1t was
only at the last minute that he dis
covered that all the tvpe-writers work
language is written, while Turkish is
written from right to left. The ex-
cessive cost of altering a machine to
write in this direction decided him |
not to get one. A typewriter for
writing in any language can be made,
however.
The manufacture OF type-wrlters is |
now an important American industry.
Nine-tenths of all the type-writers
used in the world are made in this |
country. The traveller can now find |
the American machines in daily use
in England, France. Germany, Russia,
and indeed in all the European coun-
tries. The English Government,
which is very slow to make changes
of radical or progressive nature, has
adopted the American typewriter,
and in all the Government offices in |
India as we'll those in London and |
elsewhere the machine is now in con-
slant use.
The Chinise are about the only peo-
pie who will be left out of the type |
writing nations. There are so many |
thousand characters in their language |
that it would be impossible to con-
struct machine capable of doing the
work.
There are many thousands of type
writers in daily use in New York City,
and the instrument has long ceased to |
be curiosity. With the telephone,