But there is food for thought in this old catalogue from beginning to end. The clause in the title, "A Machine to Supersede the Pen," reads today like one of the world's great prophecies. The advantages of typewriting over pen-writing are enumerated as Legibility, Rapidity, Ease, Convenience and Economy, and time, which proves all things, has certainly proved these claims. It is only when we pass from the description of the machine itself to "Some of its uses" that we seem to discern a halting note. First in the list of prospective users come the Reporters, and it is interesting to know that, to the inventors of the typewriter, court reporting appealed as the principal field of the new machine. Next in order come Lawyers, Editors, Authors and Clergymen. These apparently are the only classes of users who are considered worthy of a special appeal. But how about the business man? We search in vain for any mention of his name until we come to a single sentence, evidently intended as a "ketch-all" for the left overs, which reads: "The merchant, the banker, ALL men of business can perform the labor of letter writing with much saving of valuable time." Did the builders of the first typewriter fully appreciate the tremendous truth contained in these words? If so, it is hard to believe that they would have confined all reference to the business man to a single sentence in an obscure portion of their first catalogue. This one sentence, in this place, seems to lack the ring of conviction. It makes one wish that the typewriter men of 1874 could live again to witness the typewriter wonders of 1923, and see how many-fold greater has been the fruit of their labors than anything of which they dreamed. So much for what the builders thought of their own product. But what did the buyers and the users think? We turn eagerly for information on this point to the testimonials, of which this old catalogue contains several. But the first one that meets our eyes engrosses us so completely that we straightway forget about all the rest. It is from no less a person than "Mark Twain," and this is what he says: Hartford, March 19, 1875. Gentlemen: Please do not use my name in any way. Please do not even divulge the fact that I own a machine. I have entirely stopped using the Type-Writer, for the reason that I never could write a letter with it to anybody without receiving a request by return mail that I would not only describe the machine but state what progress I had made in the use of it, etc., etc. I don't like to write letters, and so I don't want people to know that I own this curiosity breeding little joker. Yours truly, Saml. L. Clemens.