ABSTRACT

Our word-processing applications have accustomed us to searching, modifying, and rearranging text that is held in flexible digital memory. The essence of a word processor is the freedom it gives the writer during the period between initial typing and the finalization of the text. A typewriter is a “writing machine”, as the device is called in most languages. It combines the standardized nature of type, as in printing, with the sequential writing action of a user, as in handwriting. The large majority of typewriters have been keyboard devices used to print one letter at a time onto paper, in immediate response to the touch of a user. The greatest technical challenges for the inventors of the time were durable alignment and immediate visibility for the typed text. The early 20th century saw the rise of portable typewriters, which could serve as ready tools for students, housewives, journalists, or traveling businessmen.