History of Typewriters | The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation

Developed by Christopher Glidden in the 1860s and manufactured by the Remington arms company beginning in 1873, the Sholes & Glidden was the first commercially successful typewriter. Its adoption by large corporations kickstarted the typewriter industry and contributed to the speedup of American work life. The innovations of the Sholes & Glidden, particularly its keyboard layout, were widely adopted. This typewriter is why your computer keyboard reads QWERTYUIOP.
The typewriter was not immediately successful. Manufacturers had to figure out how to combine precise machinery with a durable structure and components.
Check out thf.org/collections to discover more of our typewriter artifacts.
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[@joellindholm3727]

In the opening i agree with him but holy cow that’s boomer af

[@squatchhammer7215]

*Laughs in Smith and Corona*

[@pablo-dc7qq]

I know right

[@ryanwalsh2455]

So cringy the whole time, his voice is from a nightmare too

[@FennixGamingYT]

Laughs in The Fox No. 3 Upstrike

[@anadesiderio3881]

​@@pablo-dc7qq ❤]44a.

[@poulomi__hari]

My older cousin had a typewriter. That was the first and only time I had seen it. I enjoyed typing on it. I thought it was a fabulous machine that helped me "print", like a book.

[@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair]

I'm 28 and I own 5 typewriters and use them from time to time for creative writing excercises. Got the first one when I was 12 from a friend, when his parents wanted to throw them away. For us it had the feeling of old spy movies. It stayed at my parents house for quite a while and I forgot about it but found it again in my early 20s when I was very interested in vintage technology and writing itself. I looked for them on the german version of craigslist wnd payed 0-20€ for each, all working fine and looking good. The oldest model I own is from the 1930s, the youngest from the early 80s.

[@v.e.7236]

Best typewriter I ever had the pleasure of using was the IBM Selectric, w/ the type ball you could change for different languages or fonts. Smooth and quick, I've witnessed someone type at just over 200 WPM on one. My personal best was well under 100 WPM. I was certified to repair those Selectrics and made good money working on them before the word processors made them obsolete. Anyone remember the Mag-card writers? An attempt at a hard drive-esque system that failed miserably.

[@thevintageman13]

V. E. I kinda like the mag card typewriters. I have a Selectric 2 that needs some repair

[@carolv8450]

Yes, I used it too!!!

[@josephgaviota]

The Selectric has the "keyboard feel" against which all others are judged.

[@Rhaman68]

The selectric ball print head was THE solution to mangled mechanical keys that also limited the speed of the operator. Had these in HS typing class. I forget if it had an “eraser” feature, a white ribbon. Thanks

[@FindecanorNotGmail]

2:12 "To avoid jamming" is hearsay, but reasonable. The Sholes and Glidden Type-Writer's layout was not _designed_ that way, but rather _tweaked_ from an early design after feedback from early adopters who needed to type fast: at least 30 WPM. The very first layout shown to early adopters had actually been in alphabetic order, except that vowels were on the second row. The layout was further modified into the one we have today by manufacturer Remington, to avoid having to pay more royalties to Sholes. I'd refer to Yasuoka's excellent paper On the Prehistory of QWERTY (2011).

[@jesse1952]

This is one of those things I have wondered about for a long time. So getting a direct answer gives me a satisfying sense of peace. I don’t know if this makes sense lol

[@johntapp7232]

Oh, but it does!! I knew it was more than just that Sholes had a sticky typewriter. Some say the QWERTY system was to keep the typist in check speed wise, but that’s not entirely true. DVORAK would have been great, but too many people were using QWERTY by the time it was introduced.

[@josephgaviota]

@@johntapp7232 I'd read elsewhere that even if a modern typist switches to a DVORAK keyboard, there is little improvement in speed ... since the mechanics of the machine are no longer what's holding us back.

[@trainroomgary]

Like - I still use a 1955 Royal Typewriter. Works great • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂🚃

[@johntapp7232]

I sometimes use a 1955 Royal HH upright that has elite type. I have used several of this machine plus quiet deluxe portables and the big RE electrics-all from 1955. Very good typewriters all.

[@ReginaTrans_]

Like, all the 70+ year old daddies say I’m their fav 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@vnessa33]

whats that sidebar you call that you push

[@charliedrosario999]

How intriguing, whom would have known that a typewriter is an American.

[@maggiehost8592]

great help

[@niltomega2978]

"History of Typewriters" We got to see 2...and 1 electric.

[@justforfunvideohobby]

Misleading title indeed. The boomer humor in the beginning didn't really add anything either...

[@ezequiasrocha3037]

How about Henry Mill 1714?

[@davidlee2221]

Came here to post a comment about how boomer this guy is, then started typing. I literally just hopped off my royal signet, trying to get the ribbion to spool correctly. the keys here feel weird as fuck now.... god i need a mechanical keybord..

[@elijahwilliams2968]

Nice!!

[@ayushthumbarathy3961]

My dumbass waiting for more be like : Wait................ That's it????

[@Jurtltheturtle]

Everyone still uses paper and everyone still uses physical keyboards.

[@JayJynxTrash]

I mean the do have electric typewriters soooo technically there are devices that plug in

[@ElliotBrownJingles]

We earthlings. WE earthlings.

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

1874 (manufactured & sold) - 1868 = 6

[@maxfaxdude]

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

[@josephgaviota]

Great "Shining" reference.

[@niltomega2978]

My dad used to say "All work and no play makes jack and plenty of it."

[@ejsmith7626]

Well that opening wasn't condencending at all.

[@Shiro.a_horny_bsd_fan]

definitely not at all

[@dipendrakushwaha8557]

Who is the father of typewriter

[@scottholman3982]

Not all computer keyboards use the QWERTY layout. Because computers are electronic devices, it is possible to use different layouts for the keyboard. Personally, I believe that the Dvorak layout is superior to the QWERTY, as it was researched by a scientist trying to create the best layout for the typist. The QWERTY was the best layout for the typewriter, forcing the typist to switch hands on almost every keystroke, which reduced the chance that the keys would get tangled up. Computer operating systems have the ability to change the keyboard layout electronically, so that pressing a key will mean different things depending on the layout selected. Rearranging the key caps is optional, but I like being able to see the letters on the keys the way they will be used.

[@darnit1944]

At this point, it's impossible to convince people to change to Dvorak. It's like someone tries to introduce a revised English language to speak English in simpler manner. But that means we have to unlearn a language that is spoken by billions of people.

[@scottholman3982]

@@darnit1944 By introducing young people to the Dvorak layout, it is possible to get them to prefer Dvorak.

[@tcphll]

@@scottholman3982 They may learn to prefer it, but that doesn't change the fact that QWERTY is astronomically more dominant in a professional, and even a casual, setting. Virtually all computer keyboards and mobile devices default to QWERTY, so while Dvorak may technically be a better layout, it's unlikely to ever dethrone QWERTY. It's far more likely an entirely new input method replaces keyboards altogether than Dvorak becoming the dominant, or even a seriously competing, keyboard layout.

[@LucasLima-rw2hm]

Lies! In 1861, during the National Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, visitors were amazed by a different kind of machine, which made it possible to print shorthand symbols just by pressing keys. The invention remained on display for 44 days, and it was one of the nine awarded a gold medal, out of the 1,136 that took part. A priest from the State of Paraíba, Francisco João de Azevedo (1814-1880), the inventor of the shorthand machine, ended up transforming it, by a few simple modifications, into a typewriter. But the laurels and the patent were reaped by an American, Christopher Latham Sholes. And Azevedo found a place in the hall of wronged inventors, along with Santos Dumont (airplane) and Landel de Moura (radio). Americans need to stop stealing inventions from another countries!

[@niltomega2978]

This is referring to the first commercial typewriters. And remember, lying requires intent !

[@josephgaviota]

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY A L L W O R K A N D N O P L A Y M A K E S J A C K A D U L L B O Y All work and no play makes Jack a Dull boy. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY

[@mjstow]

"all ten of our fingers"? I hate to disagree, but the left thumb does nothing. Well, that's how I was taught to type anyway.

[@JoeyMayo]

The guy who narrates this video looks like the English fellow Louis Theroux.

[@Fahimkhanwtc5980]

Old Typewriters মেশিন

[@sauron9883]

I came here for typewriters, not for some boomer propaganda.

[@johntapp7232]

Are you talking about his subject matter or are you talking about his delivery of said subject matter?

[@sauron9883]

@@johntapp7232 Definitely the way he delivered it.

[@sh0op]

ok boomer

[@darnit1944]

Your hair is so 70s, shut up. 1770s, i mean

[@sh0op]

@@darnit1944 I may be 300 years old but I don't even act like this guy

[@wolvescrest]

Who is this boomer talking to. We still use paper, we still write with pen and pencils. Phones didn't make those things obsolete. Hell I still use wax seals on parchment for my DnD letters for the campaign I run.

[@rinwesley3092]

Lot of fragile feelings getting hurt over cheesy intro. lol.

[@joemarmar2861]

Ok boomer

[@eriknanstiel1102]

his nasally voice is irritating, lol

[@laurenkube7419]

be more condescending, i dare yall LOLOL

[@katiemarshall8033]

I just wanted to learn about typewriters, not be spoken down to by a really condescending guy

[@rinwesley3092]

Lighten up, geez.

[@johntapp7232]

I’ll agree-we all are proud of the machines we’re able to use. Our pride can get in the way of consideration of others. I can use a little of all of it, certainly none of it am I a virtuoso. My brag would be in that I have been exposed to everything from the earliest typewriters to the last cell phones. But again I am not the best user of any of these devices. And I am 52 years old.

[@elifkutlu3653]

I was so annoyed that I lost my interest

[@o.3464]

The first typewriter wasn't American

[@MrConna6]

Far from the first typewriter but ok, just more American shit ig

[@hitbyabus4615]

0:17 stop talking like that, it’s creepy

[@hitbyabus4615]

Stop acting like we don’t use paper

[@sofia4799]

ok boomer

[@tcphll]

"ok boomer" has been so overused and misused, it no longer has any meaning. Nothing he said wasn't true, nor did it put down generations younger than the boomers, or that the older way was better. Do you even understand what "ok boomer" is supposed to mean?

[@johntapp7232]

As a 52 year old, I take it to mean, “okay, whatever you say, old person. Now you gotta admit that this is just one way that the younger folks are rebelling against the elder folks, as we ALL have done. In my case, it was the silent generation into the early baby boomers. Now I have more of a reverence for my elders (most of them anyway, except the ones who would have been nasty at any generational level.)

[@elifkutlu3653]

@@tcphll ok boomer