Highlights Archives
The First Typewriter — Invented in Wisconsin
In the age of cell phones, mp3 players, and Blackberries, it's easy to overlook the profound effects of earlier information technology. Each generation thinks its latest gadget is the most amazing device since Gutenberg. Most, however, probably have less impact on information management than the paper clip or mimeograph machine. One tool that was truly transformative, however, was the typewriter, which was invented right here in Wisconsin.
Mark Twain once claimed, "I was the first person in the world to apply the typemachine to literature." Twain was given to boasting, to put it mildly: he rarely spoke the truth when hyperbole would do. But it's true that he did buy one of the first typewriters, and he wrote this letter to fellow author William Dean Howells on it on December 9, 1874:
"You needn't answer this; I am only practicing to get three; anothe slip-up there; only practici?ng ti get the hang of the thing. I notice I miss fire & get in a good many unnecessary letters & punctuation marks. I am simply using you for a target to bang at. Blame my cats, but this thing requires genius in order to work it just right." [Paine, Albert B. Mark Twain: A Biography (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1912), ch. XCIX]
It also required genius to imagine and build the machine, which was the creation of Milwaukee newspaperman and politician Christopher L. Sholes (1819-1890). He invented it in 1867 and by 1872 he had developed the prototype of all modern standard typewriters. Meanwhile, his business partner James Densmore (1820-1889) borrowed money, invested funds, secured patents, and coined the name. Being short of cash, Sholes sold off his interest in his invention in bits and pieces during the 1870s, while Densmore licensed crucial technology rights to the Remington Co.
A related object from the Museum's collections is the Sholes & Glidden typewriter. The machine derives part of its name from Carlos Glidden, who encouraged Sholes to develop a mechanical writing machine. You can also read historical newspaper stories on the invention of the typewriter, see dozens of pictures, or get the whole story in "The Original Typewriter Enterprise, 1867-1873" by Richard Nelson Current, an article in the Wisconsin Magazine of History vol. 32 no. 4 (June 1949): pages 391-407.
:: Posted March 23, 2007
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