Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-04-23
THE TYPEWRITER,
A Labor-Saving- Machine Which SpruI
Immediately Into Popularity.

| ue cllCh VI JIG typewriter Is one Oh
the most familiar sounds to the fire.
quenters of downtown offices: In
nearly every large Office one or more of
these little machines can be found in
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 soon sold
| their rights to the machine, but drew q
royalty on it for some years. One of
| these men was printer by trade, and
| for years he had been experimenting
with a writing machine to supplant the
pen. He first invented a machine for
numbering automatically the pages of
books such as ledgers. When the type
writer was first upon the market 1t was
a crude machine, very different from
what it is to-day. The foot was brought
into operation in it to pull back the
| carriage upon which the paper was
| rolled, somewhat like sewing machine.
| There were various other clumsy APP
planes connected with it, and the ma
chine was regarded by the public more
| as a curiosity than as practical writ
| ing instrument. A few large offices,
IoNCFCIs VIC tiCC VI " pew
and the advantages of the instrument
were seen where large number of
| manifold copies were required and it
| was desirable to have very plain and
easily deciphered copy. Improvements
were made from time to time in the
mechanism, and as the machine was
gradually being perfected it became
| more and more popular.
Meantime IFS SnccpSS nrOmntp6 other
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 different
from that of the American machine.
Instead of the type being arranged in
circular pocket and flying up to hit the
paper, in the foreign machine the type
and keys were arranged like pins in a
pinctshion and the instrument was in
the shape of a hemisphere. With the
keys sticking out all over its surface it
very much resembled aporcupine. This
machine was very small and could al
most be carried in the pocket. 1t had
many advantages over the American
machine, and likewise many disadvan-
tages.
Hardly had the foreign machine been
upon the market than another Ameri-
can machine came out upon some of
the principles of the first machine, the
patents upon which had expired. This
was followed on an altogether differ
ent plan, the type being made of rub
Der and all together on a little pad.
When writing the letter is brought
over small hole in a plate and
through this hits the paper, all the 9TH
er types at the same time taking up
supply of ink. On the other machines
an linked ribbon is brought between the
type and the paper, and the ink takes
the shape of the letter pressing against
it.
This was followed by still another
machine wherein the type, made of
hard rubber in the form of a cylinder,
revolved 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 machine
is that an infinite number of characters
can be used in it and type for writing
in German and other foreign 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
Eflendi made a copy of them and
gave it to an engraver to make a set of
letters for the typewriter. 1t was
only at the last moment that he dis
covered that all the type-writers work
from left to right, as the English lam
guage 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-writers 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 Ameri-
can machines in daily use in England,
France, Germany, Russia, and in
deed in all the European countries.
The English Government, which is
very slow to make changes OF a radical
or progressive nature, has adopted the
American typewriter, and in all the
Government offices in India, as well as
those in London and elsewhere the ma
chine is in constant use.
The Chinese 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 a machine capable of doing their
work.
There are many thousands of type
writer's in daily use in New York city,
and the instrument has long since
ceased to be a curiosity. With the tel
ephone, the Wall street ticker and the
typewriter a part of every well APP
pointed office, the duties of clerks have
indeed been revolutionized within the
past half century.
Very many authors now write all OF
their books and magazine articles on
the typewriter, and among these are
w. ID. Howells and Mark Twain. The
Declaration of Independence was not
written on a typewriter, but if Thomas
Jefferson lived in this age he would
probably have licked off his immortal
document upon one of these little labor
saving machines. A legal decision has
been rendered to the effect that al
though typewriter manuscript IS
printed, it is writing all the same, and
the postal authorities regard 1t as
written matter, which must pay fulI
postage.
One of the openings for women that
are constantly coming up is copying
manuscript on the typewriter, and
very MANY girls and young women now