They were so tired and worn out and dispirited

MINA HARKER'S JOURNAL

30 October, evening.--They were so tired and worn out and dispirited that there was nothing to be done till they had some rest, so I asked them all to lie down for half an hour whilst I should enter everything up to the moment. I feel so grateful to the man who invented the "Traveller's" typewriter, and to Mr. Morris for getting this one for me. I should have felt quite astray doing the work if I had to write with a pen. . .

It is all done. Poor dear, dear Jonathan, what he must have suffered, what he must be suffering now. He lies on the sofa hardly seeming to breathe, and his whole body appears in collapse. His brows are knit. His face is drawn with pain. Poor fellow, maybe he is thinking, and I can see his face all wrinkled up with the concentration of his thoughts. Oh! if I could only help at all. I shall do what I can.

I have asked Dr. Van Helsing, and he has got me all the papers that I have not yet seen. Whilst they are resting, I shall go over all carefully, and perhaps I may arrive at some conclusion. I shall try to follow the Professor's example, and think without prejudice on the facts before me. . .

I do believe that under God's providence I have made a discovery. I shall get the maps and look over them.

I am more than ever sure that I am right. My new conclusion is ready, so I shall get our party together and read it. They can judge it. It is well to be accurate, and every minute is precious.

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Mina: "I feel so grateful to the man who invented the ‘Traveller’s’ typewriter, and to Mr. Morris for getting this one for me."

Klinger thinks this was probably a lightweight Blickensderfer typewriter ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blickensderfer_typewriter ), but admits they were not widely available until 1893 (Klinger, 468 n 23). However, the definition of a typewriter in the early 1890s was a broad one. We know that ultimately the Sholes & Glidden / Remington style, with several rows of keys, was successful. However, other typewriter styles were used before the keyboard-style typewriter eventually won out.

One style that was popular for its lower price and its greater portability was the index typewriter. With index typewriters, a pointer is positioned over the desired letter on a guide, a key is struck to print the letter on the paper, and the point of printing moves ahead one character. (The process is similar to using a mechanical labelmaker to emboss letters on a plastic strip.) Using an index typewriter would be slower than typing with a keyboard, but still an improvement compared to writing neatly by hand, particularly if carbon copies were being made.

IMAGE: Man using index typewriter on a train. https://www.officemuseum.com/MBHT_Victor_typewriter_used_by_traveler.jpg

“One Letter at a Time: Index Typewriters and the Alphabetic Interface” at Contextual Alternate: https://www.contextualternate.com/exhibition01