 Thoughts of a typewriter
by Tissa Hewavitarana
My life began as a little orphan
with its share of insecurity, hurt, desolation and humiliation. My
childhood was spent between orphanages and services of unsuitable foster
parents. For the first few years, I was transported to foster homes. The
seeds of insecurity were well sown. The security of a warm heart was
something I never knew. The invention of my breed was instrumental,
provided by numerous inventors working independently or competing with
one another over decades. It was Rev. Rasmus Malling-Hansen of Denmark
who gave me extra life by doing many modifications to my body. I was
then known as the Hansen Writing-Bell which went into commercial
production.
My brand was a success in Europe and was reported as being used in
offices in London as late as 1909. Malling did many improvements to my
figure but the writing head remained the same (keyboard). At first, the
paper was attached to a cylinder inside a wooden box. The cylinder was
later replaced by a carriage, moving beneath the writing head. It was
the first of the writing balls that worked without electricity.
Malling-Hansen made a porcelain model of the keyboard of his writing
instrument and experimented with different placement of letters to
achieve the fastest writing speed. Malling placed the letters in short
pistons that went directly through the roller down to the paper.
This together with the placement of the letters made it easy even for
the fastest typing fingers.
The Malling-Hansen Writing Instrument was the first to produce text
substantially faster than a person could write by hand.
  It was ‘Remington and Sons’, a manufacturer that commercialised the
machines as the ‘Sholes and Glidden Typewriter’. This was the origin of
the word ‘typewriter’. Remington began production in Ilion, New York. It
had a QWERTY keyboard layout. By now I grew in popularity and on
approaching womanhood. I discovered one asset that would give me an edge
over everyone else.
It was my vital exuberant figure. My dazzling looks gave me
confidence that I didn’t have to fear rejection any longer. My beauty
was my baton and I was used unsparingly. So hungry for acceptance of
love that I was exploited for my looks to an extent of what seemed a
little short of promiscuity. Gradually with various ingenious mechanical
designs, writing instruments such as the Oliver typewriter were
introduced. By now I had reached middle-age and many new models and the
latest brands of my family were in demand. IBM announced the
Electromatic Model 04 electric typewriter, featuring the revolutionary
concept of proportional spacing. This became a staple of the IBM
executive series typewriter.
People looked for young blood and the latest models. A reputed
company sent their representative to purchase the latest typewriter. A
curvaceous blond, a love goddess with inviting eyes, fetched me. She sat
with me on the first day and built a good rapport. Her nimble fingers
ran on my keyboard. She was my boss and I was happy and proud in my new
home. I worked well with the staff. What more could I ask? Money, fame,
beauty and good company. I had all! |
