Blog Post Four
The Typewriter
An example of a typewriter
The invention I chose for our presentation is the typewriter! I chose this invention because I love to write and I wanted to learn more about what came before our modern computers and word processors. Also, I used to play with my grandma‘s old typewriter as a kid and I thought it was the coolest thing! According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the typewriter is defined as: “a machine in which the characters are produced by steel types striking the paper through an inked ribbon with the types being actuated by corresponding keys on a keyboard and the paper being held by a platen that is automatically moved along with a carriage when a key is struck.” (Britannica)
The typewriter has hazy origins many say was originally invented by an Italian man of unknown origin as a way to help blind people write. While others say it was invented by English royalty to make proclamations more efficient. Nonetheless, it was reinvented, patented, and brought to the United States by a man named Christopher Sholes in 1867. Scholes originally put the keyboard in alphabetical order but noticed that when he often typed with letters in that order, many of the vowels or consonants that we commonly use would get stuck together if they were used at the same time. Because of this, he invented the keyboard order that we know today also known as the QWERTY keyboard. When Sholes brought the typewriter to America it was not powered by electricity. However, that did not stop people from making the typewriter a household phenomenon. The typewriter was featured in many commercials and print advertisements as well as radio programs. Which just showed how important it became to not only communication but pop culture. “The importance and popularity of [Sholes’s most popular typewriter] can be seen in its advertisements. Some of my favorites were those that included the results of typewriting competitions and those that included the names of companies that bought their product. Another favorite was an advertisement from 1915 that indicated the [typewriter] had won the First Grand Prize at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. During WWI their advertisements touted the typewriter’s contribution to the war effort – one encouraged people to get involved using their typing skills” (Library of Congress) although Thomas Edison tried it was eventually IBM who Commercialized it in 1873 and made the first successful electric version in the 1920s. “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.” (IBM) Unfortunately, after several decades the typewriter eventually became obsolete in favor of more efficient devices such as word processors and today’s personal computers, but the typewriter and its contributions will never be forgotten, as it was a large stepping stone to today’s modern culture and technology.
(My work cited page wasn't formatted correctly so here are all my sources)
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