The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-10-16
|TYPEWR|TERS ARE
HALF CENTURY OLD
Machines Of 1916 Were Very
Clumsy and of Practically
Little Use.
EMBODIED MODERN IDEAS.
Invented by Charles Thurber and
Called Mechanical Chirog-
r~aphers"-Sholess Work
in Perfecting Models
EMBODIED MODERN IDEAS.
SPECIAL

Washington. Oct. 1.-THE evolution Of
the typewriter is Interestingly illustrated
by models in the Patent Once. hese
models are stored in q building IN G
street, not far from the Patent once
proper, and. although It takes soms hunt
Ing to find the typewriters which have
been patented at various times. the re
suits are well worth the search.
One finds the first practical typewriter
ever constructed. which embraces the es-
sential principles of all modern machines.
This was the invention Of Charles Thur
Der. and upon 1t was written the first let
ter ever typewriter. A fac-simile Of this
letter. written In 1Ss. may be seen at this
office. It Is a crude piece of workman
ship. and there is no distinction between
capital and small letters. It was written
at what would now be considered a ride
ulouslv low rate Of speed. Yet the spacing
is perfect and the type legible. 1t was
called 4 mechanical chirosrnpher."
Although Thurber's machine is large and
clumsy. il emoodIes most of the devices
common to modern typewriters. To It was
applied. for the first time. the paper carry
ing roller. together with suitable machin-
cry for line and letter spacing.
ADVANCE MADE BY SHOLEs.
After Thurber. the first man to realize
the possibilities of the typewriter was C.
Latham Sholes OF Wisconsin. Gifted with
indomitable will. business aptitude and
faith In his own powers. which no failure
was able to daunt. the real inventor of the
modern typewriter saw something in the
Idea Sholes was not wealthy. and his first
difficulty lay In finding a capitalist who
was willing to embark with him In the en-
terprise.
This first obstacle overcome. he set to
work with a will. and between 1887 and 1878
sI5hyd out u tWenfysfSs typewfiters all 81
of which went to pieces with regularity
after a more or less prolonged spell Of
practical work. But each model was bet
length a fairly efficient machine was pro-
duced.
The finished article was intrusted for
For a long time the demand was small.
Even after line years not more than 1,5OO
machines were being sold each year. This
was in 1852 Since then. however. the pop
ularity Of the typewriter has become such
that at the present time a finished ma
chime Is being produced every five min
utes Of the working day. and this rate of
production is nearly equaled by scores Of
other makes.
The success achieved by Mr.. Sholes
naturally induced inventors and capital
lists to turn their attention to the produc-
ton of other typewriters. the result being
that within twenty-seven years there have
been placed on the market of the world
nearly $50 different types OF machines.
With 4 single exception. all the best
known machines have been invented in
this country.
A striking feature Of the Patent Office |
exhibit is the number of patents taken out |
on each machine. one having sixty or
seventy distinct devices.
CURIOUS AND COSTLY MACHINES.
There have been many curious and beau
tiful machines constructed from time to
time to the order of various persons or
for presentation Perhaps tho most elab- |
crate typewriter ever produced was that |
made for the Czarina of Russia. All parts |
Of the machines ordinarily black were
enameled blue. and those portions Of the
frame work usually outlined in gold were |
lnlaid with mother-of-pearl The keys were
of African ivory and the bright parts OF |
solid gold
A similar machine was presented on her
wedding day to the present Princess of J
then Duchess of York: and an
other was made not long 9 to the order