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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

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