The Society takes this occasion to extend an invitation to the general public to send to it any additional historical data which may serve to make our archives upon the subject more complete. We would be glad to be informed, for instance, of the names of any individuals now living, not mentioned in this volume, who have been identified in any important way with the development of the typewriting machine and its extension throughout the world during the last half century; the location and ownership of any typewriting machine which is over forty-five years old; the name and address of anyone who has been a continuous user of a typewriter for at least forty years; the location and ownership of any machine upon which any very important manuscript or public document was written. In a word, we would like to make the Herkimer County Historical Society's archives the repository where future historians may find complete and reliable information upon the invention which was Christopher Latham Sholes' gift to the world. John W. Vrooman, President, Herkimer County Historical Society. Herkimer, N. Y., April 7, 1923. CHAPTER I. FIFTY YEARS OLD The manufacture of the first practical writing machines began at Ilion, Herkimer County, New York, in the autumn of 1873. This anniversary year 1923 is a fitting time to review the remarkable history of this great invention, and every phase of the incalculable service which it has rendered to the modern world. Fifty years old! What will be the thoughts of the average reader when he is reminded of the actual age of the writing machine? The typewriter has made itself such an essential factor in modern life, it has become so necessary to all human activities, that the present-day world could hardly be conceived without it. It is hard to name any other article of commerce which has played a more commanding role in the shaping of human destiny. It has freed the world from pen slavery and, in doing so, it has saved a volume of time and labor which is simply incalculable. Its time-saving service has facilitated and rendered possible the enormous growth of modern business. The idea which it embodied has directly inspired many subsequent inventions in the same field, all of which have helped to lighten the burden of the world's numberless tasks. In its broad influence on human society, the typewriter has been equally revolutionary, for it was the writing machine which first opened to women the doors of business life. It has radically changed our modern system of education in many of its most important phases. It has helped to knit the whole world closer together. Its influence has been felt in the shaping of language and even of human thought.