Interesting Typewriters From the 1870's to the 1970's

The keys are connected to wooden levers that actuate the type bars

The double keyboard contains both lower and upper case characters and figures. There is no shift key. The large flat keys on each side of the keyboard are space keys.

The Caligraph No. 2 decal is in extraordinarily good condition for an 1881 machine, particularly because the typist would have rested his/her hands on or near the metal typebar cover while typing.

The small turnbuckles conected to the wooden levers allowed for precise adjustment for each key.

Since the typebars swing up from below to type onto the paper, the typist's work could only be seen by raising the platen to reveal what had been typed.

The faceted platen can be seen clearly here.

View of the wooden key levers with the metal hand rest panel removed.

Each key is attached to a wooden lever.

The spring running under the wooden levers powers the carriage to advance one space to the left after a key is typed. The sturdy spring is still functioning after more than 130 years!