The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-10
PROGRESS IN TYPEwRITERs.
First one Produced In England Two
Centuries Ago.

From the Strand.
II will doubtless surprise most people to
learn that the first typewriter ever pro-
duced was manufactured, not in America
and at a comparatively recent date, but
nearly two centuries ago. and In England.
On Jan. II, liza, there was granted to a
gentleman named Mills, an engineer in the
employ of the New River Company, a pat
ent for an invention described as follows:
AN artificial machine, or method, for the
impressing or transcribing of letters, sing
ly or progressively, one after another, as
in writing, whereby all writings whatso-
ever may be engrossed on paper on parch-
ment, so neat and exact as not be distin-
guished from print"
Thus was the typewriter born. No
drawings were submitted with the spec
ifications, so that IL is now impossible TO
tell how the machine was constructed
or what kind of work 1t performed From
notes found among the private papers OF
the inventor however, after his death, Il
is assumed that IL was intended 20 print
embossed letters for the use OF the blind.
A similar machine, also for the use OF
blind people, was patented In France in
the year 1874; but with these two excep-
tons no other efforts seems to have been
made to construct a writing machine I'M
Ill 1893, when Mr.. Austin Burt, an Amer
lean, patented his ''Typograph." This
was very pretty and exceedingly inge-
NOUS piece of mechanism, but, viewed
from commercial point OF view, II was
a decided failure. The same remark APP
plies to the extraordinary looking ma
chine delineated here, the operator OF
which most certainly wears a decidedly
worried look; as well as 10 Mr.. little
daleS machine, exhibited In 1874 at n meet
ing OF the British Association at York
But these and other similar attempts,
for the most part crude and ill-concelved,
set practical men thinking. Among
others Charles Thurber. an American,
went to work and constructed a machine
which Is now generally admitted to have
been the first practical typewriter ever put
together II was large. n was clumsy
And II was capable OF being driven only
al what would now be regarded as a rldic-
ulousiy low rate OF speed But Il embod-
led most OF the mechanical devices com
mon 10 nearly all modern machines, and
20 n was applied for the first time the
paper-carrying roller. together with suita-
BILE machinery for line and letter-spacing
That u was far from perfect, however
" evident from the specimen OF its work
shown on the next page. Thurbers ma
chine, however, like Littiedaie's. and In
deed all the early typewrltera was In
tended solely for the use OF the blind
so far the need OF a machine TO supersede
the pen had not even been thought Of
tors, notably Beach and Pratt, both OF
whom spent considerable sums OF money
and an immense amount OF time and labor
IN improving the typewriter. In 1867 Mr.
pratts machine was exhibited In London
before the society OF arts, and. as was
only natural, attracted a great deal OF at
tention. Most Of the leading engineering
and scientific papers devoted considerable
space 10 descriptions and Illustrations Of
tho Strengthening piece Of mechanism:
and suggestions were not wanting 70 the
effect that the inventor who could produce
a successful machine OF the kind. intend
ed not only for the use Of those whom mis-
fortune had deprived OF sight, but for man
kind IN general, would secure a fortune
for himself and confer an almost inesti.
mable boon upon humanity az large
Probably n couple Of million people
either saw the machine FOR themselves or
read tho description OF u aa published I'm
the press. To the vast majority Il mere
" formed an object Of idle and somewhat
ianrdid curiosity. A very small majority
examined the thing closely. and--pooh-
p00hed tho idea a. ridiculous and imprac-
ticahlc. One man, aud one man only, AR.