The Typewriter

The Typewriter 

The typewriter was attempted all throughout the 19^th century, but a guy named Christopher Latham Sholes was successful in 1867. He was inspired by an article he read in the Scientific American journal that talked about a similar British invention. There were others invented, by Sholes’ was the first practical one. In 1868, Sholes got a patent for his second model, and it wrote at a speed that far exceeded the speed of the first. Over time the typewriter developed even farther; in 1909 the noiseless typewriter came out, and then in 1920 the electrical typewriter came out. The electrical typewriter was said to “basically be a mechanical typewriter with the typing stroke powered by an electric-motor drive.” Even though portable typewriters came out in 1909, they weren’t common until 1950. This form was more similar to the laptops, but still less convenient. 

In general, the typewriter only has good reviews. The typewriter allowed for any document produced with it to automatically appear more presentable. The typewriter became ideal fast because no matter what type of document you were writing, it followed the same format. This made all documents appear clear and organized. Inevitably the introduction of the typewriter took the meaning of professionalism to new heights. This quick way of typing up documents meant that people and businesses had more time for other activities and work in their daily lives. One of the best effects that the typewriter had was inventing jobs for women at the time. Most companies would only hire women to do their typewriting, which created many new jobs for them. The article said that “It was from the typewriter that vital communication changes still in existence today were born.” 

Nothing bad really came from the typewriter, but some “cons” that led to new advancements were connectivity, cost, size, and noise. Connectivity is looked at a con, however when the typewriter was invented, there was no WIFI. So, it makes sense that it lacks connectivity, but it gave way for improvements to be made and progress throughout history. The cost was a concern because the paper and ink could get expensive, and there was not an “undo” button. This made mistakes expensive, and many people switched to computers as soon as they could for the reason of price. Compared to today’s laptops, typewriters were very large and not ideal to carry around. Even though they had portable versions, they do not compare to the portability of the laptops. The last complaint that was given against typewriters was the sound. Typewriters are known to be very loud and, in an office,  it could get hard to concentrate. Some people type loud on their laptops, it is quieter than typing gentle on a typewriter. None of these cons are really against the typewriter, they are more pro the new inventions that came after. Without realizing these little things, advancements never would have been made to get us where we are today. 

https://www.britannica.com/technology/typewriter

https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept12/2012/10/28/the-typewriter-a-remarkable-impact-on-communication/

https://chattr.com.au/2016/11/18/pros-cons-using-typewriter/