Samuel W. Francis Writing Machine
date: label: date made
content: 1857
name: label: maker
content: Francis, Dr. Samuel Ward
notes: label: Description
content: This is a typewriter patented by Dr. Samuel Ward Francis of Newport, Rhode Island in 1857. The patent received number 18,504 and claimed the principal improvements of arranging the hammers in a circle, a common printing center, with a key operation similar in manner to that of a piano. The typewriter consists of a wooden box with attached mechanism for typing. The ivory keyboard is similar to a piano's and extends the length of the front, earning the writing machine the “Literary Piano” nickname.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Rhode Island, Rhode Island, Newport
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanisms
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content: Typewriters
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content: Computers & Business Machines
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Samuel Ward Francis
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: ME.180060
label: catalog number
content: 180060
label: accession number
content: 21102
objectType: label: Object Name
content: typewriter
label: Other Terms
content: typewriter; Manual
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: bone, ivory (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 5/8 in x 25 3/8 in x 22 3/4 in; 21.9075 cm x 64.4525 cm x 57.785 cm