June 23rd: The Day Typing Became The New Writing

On June 23rd 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes patented the first type-writer to undergo mass production. Although this was not the first time the world had seen the type-writer, Sholes' invention was the only practical and portable machine to be patented so far. The Remington Model 1 became available in shops in 1873, enabling a faster writing process for its users.

Tap, tap, tap, tap... ding!

   Sholes' idea for the modern type-writer originated from Gutenberg's movable-type printing press, and he advanced this model in order to develop a more sophisticated keyboard system with a Linotype. Later on in the 1870s, Sholes was credited with the invention of the QWERTY keyboard, a device to prevent the letter keys from being tangled with each other. Clearly this is not such a modern day problem, but the success of QWERTY has lasted to present day, from Smart phones to the very computer you have in front of you! This progression signified the possibility of mass producing newspapers with Sholes' machine; something which must have taken ages prior to the type-writer. 
   It is true that Sholes cannot take all the credit for his patent, as he was assisted by various helpers, and most notably, Thomas Edison contributed to his work. Famous for his invention of electric light, Edison went on to develop the first electric type-writer in 1872. If you think about it, the concept of an electric type-writer is possibly an extremely early move towards the modern day computer or laptop. It uses a similar set-up, with the screen/paper straight ahead of you, and the keyboard placed horizontally. Anyhow, the technology enthusiasts of 1872 didn't appear to be that fussed about Edison's electric type-writer, and the machine didn't actually become widespread until the 1950s.
   So June 23rd 1868 marks the beginning of the craze of type-writing for personal and business uses, and perhaps this is where "old-fashioned" letter-writing started to fade out. It's also the day that the familiar yet irritating sound of 'Tap, tap, tap, tap... ding!' soon became part of the background noise of society, all thanks to Mr. Sholes and his QWERTY keyboard.