TYPEWRITER

The typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device used for

creating printed documents by pressing keys to transfer ink or carbon impressions
onto paper.
The first writing machine constructed in the United States was the invention of
William Austin Burt of Detroit. This machine was developed in 1828, and his
patent was signed by President Andrew Jackson in that same year. His crude device
had something of the appearance of a butcher's meat block and was called a
"Typographer." The only model of Burt's machine was destroyed in the Patent
Office fire of 1836.

The first practical typewriter was completed in September, 1867, although the patent was not issued until
June, 1868. The man who was responsible for this invention was Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. The first commercial model was manufactured in 1873 and was mounted on a sewing machine stand.
The carriage was returned to the left margin by a foot pedal similar to a sewing machine treadle. This machine
was a blind writer and wrote in only one case; that is, it not has both capitals and small letters, but wrote only in
capitals.

It is interesting to note that Mr. Sholes invited Thomas A. Edison to Milwaukee to see his miracle
machine and Mr. Edison told Mr. Sholes at the time that someday the typewriter would be operated by electricity.
In fact, a short time later Mr. Edison built a typewriter which was operated electrically -- by a series of magnets.
Since it was a large, cumbersome and expensive machine, it was never marketed. Mark Twain, the American
humorist, was among the first purchasers of a typewriter, and he was the first author to submit a typewritten
manuscript to a publisher.
Since Mr. Sholes's original machine, many makes of typewriters have been introduced and marketed.
However, there have been only four major and important improvements since the original machine in 1873. These
improvements in the order in which they appeared are as follows:

 Visible Writing.
 The Capital Shift, which made possible the use of upper and lower case characters in a machine compact
enough to be operated by touch.
 Power Operation, which brought for the first time to the typist's desk the speed and versatility of
electricity.
 Proportional Spacing, which brought to the typist's work the beauty of the printed page.
The International Business Machines Corporation was responsible for two of these four major changes in the
typewriter industry, namely, Power Operation and Proportional Spacing.