“_ANNE_, by the grace of God, &c., to all whom these presents shall come, greeting: _WHEREAS_, our trusty and well-beloved subject, Henry Mills, hath by his humble peticon represented vnto vs, that he has by his greate study, paines, and expence, lately invented, and brought to perfection “_An Artificial Machine_ or _Method_ for the _Impressing_ or _Transcribing Letters Singly_ or _Progressively_ one after another as in _Writing_, whereby all _Writing whatever_ may be _Engrossed_ in _Paper_ or _Parchment_ so _Neat_ and _Exact_ as not to be Distinguished from _Print_, that the said _Machine_ or Method, may be of greate vse in _Settlements_ and _Publick Recors_, the Impression being deeper and more Lasting that any other _Writing_, and not to be erased, or _Counterfeited_ without _Manifest Discovery_, and having therefore humbly prayed vs to grant him our Royall Letters Patents, for the sole vse of his said Invention for the term of fourteen yeares.” “_Know Yee_, that wee,” etc. The first American typewriter of which any record remains is that described in the patent granted to W. A. Burt, July 23, 1829. It was called a “Typographer.” It had a segment bearing the letters of the alphabet and corresponding notches acting as an index. A superposed lever, which could be worked up and down, and also moved laterally, was provided with a series of type, arranged in a segmental curve, so that any type could be brought into place on the subjacent paper by swinging the lever over to and down into the proper notch in the index segment below. A restored model of this is to be found in the U. S. Patent Office. [Illustration: FIG. 135.--FRENCH TYPEWRITER, 1833.] The first organized typewriter in which separate key levers were provided for each type is a French invention. It is to be found in the French patent to M. Progin (Xavier), of Marseilles, No. 3,748, Sept. 6, 1833 (Brevets d’Invention, Vol. 37, 1st Series, pl. 36). It was called a Typographic Machine, and is shown in the illustration (Fig. 135). Upright key levers _s_ are arranged in a circle around a circular plate _n_. They have hook-shaped handles at the upper end, and terminate below in forks that are pivoted to the shanks of type hammers, to raise and lower them. These hammers are inked from a pad, and at a central point deliver a printing blow on the paper below. The paper is held stationary, and the whole nest of levers was moved over the paper for each letter printed. The circular index plate _n_ had marked on it opposite the respective levers the letters and characters represented by said levers. Besides printing letters, the device was to be used for printing music, and for making stereotype plates. [Illustration: FIG. 136.--THURBER TYPEWRITER.]