The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-05-01
THE TYPE WRITER.
,,..,anical Contrivance with Unbounded
Popularity.

,early every large oin0' ono VI 80,
:, go these little machines can be found
constant use and they are SILL
rowing in popularity.
Shout ten years ago the first type
to- was invented. 1t was patented
W. 10 Detroit men who sold their
.yrby. TO the machine, but drew
.iyaltv on it for some years. One OF
.Tsse men was a printer by trade, and
~. Years he had been experimenting
O'tb a writing machine to supplant
No nen. He first invented a machine
~, -. numbering automatically the
annas of books such as ledgers.
Wien the typewriter was first upon
no market it was crude machine,
~arv different from what it is to-day.
Il rbe foot was brought into operation
n If IL pull back the carriage upon
which the paper was rolled, some
THAT like a sewing machine. There
we're various other clumsy appliances
connected with it, and the machine
vas regarded by the public more as
curiosity than as Il practical writing
Instrument. a few large Offices, how
over. began to use type-writers, and
he advantages of the instrument were
seen where a large number of mani
old COPIES were required and it was
iesis4Ole to have very plain and
.asilY decIphcred copy. Improve
nents were made from time TO time
in the mechanism, and as the machine
was gradually being perfected 1t be-
came more and more popular.
Meantime its success prompted 9th
sr inventors to apply themselves co
the subject of writing machines. One
If the first to come out was invented
in Sweden and patent obtained upon it
throughout Europe. The principle OF
this typewriter was radically differ
emit from that of the American ma
chine. Instead of the type being ar
ranged in a circular pocket and fly
inc up to hit the paper, in the for
eign machine the type and keys were
arranged like pins in plncushlon
and the instrument was in the shape
, Of hemisphere With the keys stuck
mo out all over its surface it very
much resembled a porcupine This
machine was very small and could
almost be carried in the pocket. lie
haf many advantages over the Ameri-
machine, and likewise many disad-
yantages.
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
axpited. This was followed by anoth-
er On an altogether different plan,
the type being made of rubber and
all together on little pad.
h. Lot 10, lNt
over a small hole in plate and
through this hits the paper, all the
other types at the same time taking
upa supply of ink. On the other ma
chimes an linked 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
y@hard rubber in the form of cylinder.
reKolvod in horizontal cavity and
the paper was driven up against the
type by the release of small hammer
every time 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
eigR languages can be inserted at will.
Rmember 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
Effendi made a copy of them and gave
it to an engraver to make set OF
letters for the typewriter. 1t was
only at the last minute that he dis
covered that all the tvpewriters work
from left to right, rs the English
language is written, while Turkish is
written from right TO left. The ex-
ce9sive cost of altering machine to
write in this direction decided him
not to get one. A type writer for
writing in any language can be made,
however.
The manufacture of type-writers is
now an important American industry.
Nine-tenths of all the type-writers
used i'll 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-
tiIcc. hO '1uS llou 1ONeTHincHt,
which is very slow to make changes
of q radical or progressive nature, has
adopted the American typewriter,
and in all the Government offices in
India as well those in London and
elsewhere the machine is now in con-
slant use.
. The Chinise are about the only peo-
Bile 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,
the Wall street ticker and the type
writer part of every well-appointed
office, the duties of clerks have indeed
bWn revolutionized within the past
half century.
~ e