THE HISTORY OF THE TYPEWRITER (1829-PRESENT) - HISTORY - 2024

The history of the typewriter dates back to 1829 with the creation of the typographer, considered the first typewriter. Typing is the activity by which text is entered into a specific medium, which can be both analog and digital.

The most common forms of typing are those that are done using computers or typewriters.

The word typing comes from the Greek terms mechané, which means mechanical or machine; and grafé, which means writing or drawing. The term was created when the first mechanical typewriters were manufactured.

The evolution of typing and the devices that facilitate it have allowed the spread of the written word and, therefore, of information in a way never seen until recently.

Important facts in the invention of the typewriter

The invention of the typewriter, and therefore of typing, cannot be attributed to a single person.

Over a period of a few years, there were several patents that contributed to the commercialization of the first typewriters on the market.

However, although there were previously many models of gadgets that allowed mechanical writing, it is often said that the first typewriter was William Austin Burt's "typographer" in 1829.

This machine still had many disadvantages; It used to be said that writing with it was slower than doing it by hand.

The first typewriter to be put on sale was the so-called "writing ball", which was patented by the Danish priest Rasmus Mallig-Hansen in 1865.

His model was improving and with this he won several awards, since it was the first machine that allowed typing to be faster than writing by hand.

First commercial typewriters

The first machine to be commercialized was created in 1872 by Christopher Sholes, Samuel Soulé, and Carlos Glidden.

The patent was purchased by Remington and Sons, which then manufactured sewing machines, and was marketed as the "Sholes and Glidden Typewriter."

At first the design was very rudimentary, since they were mounted on carriages of sewing machines.

The main problems with this typewriter were that only capital letters could be used, and that the typist could not see what he was typing. It was also too big and expensive to be a bestseller.

From this moment on, different inventors were improving Remington's design and solving the problems it presented.

Visible typewriters, which allowed the typist to see what he was writing, appeared around 1895.

Perfected models and current era

By the 1920s the mechanical typewriter had become standardized and in common use.

It is at this time that typing itself emerged; it was a series of techniques designed to maximize the speed at which they could be typed.

The typewriter keyboard had a particular keyboard configuration, to avoid problems such as locking the keys when pressing two adjacent letters.

For this reason, typists had to learn keyboard layout by heart in order to gain fluency.

This configuration, known as the "QWERTY" keyboard, is still used today in modern computers and even in keyboards for smartphones and tablets.

Nowadays many institutes include a subject called Typing, so that students learn to type quickly.

At present, typewriters are no longer used; the last factory of devices of this type closed in 2011.

Instead, typists often use word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word or Apple Pages.

References

1. "Typewriter" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 20, 2017 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
2. "History of typing and typewriter" in: Academia. Retrieved on: December 20, 2017 from Academia: academia.edu
3. "History of Typing" at: Jimdo. Retrieved on: December 20, 2017 from Jimdo: historiadelamecanografia.jimdo.com
4. "Typing" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 20, 2017 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
5. "Typing through time: keyboard history" in: Das Keyboard. Retrieved on: December 20, 2017 from Das Keyboard: daskeyboard.com