Believe it or not there was a time before computers. For a long period of time people actually had to write by had. They wrote letters in ink by hand. That was there communication, how they kept in contact with family, how armies relayed messages, how government communicated across the nation. This is how they functioned until the invention of the typewriter was accomplished.
Like many inventions, the typewriter was based off of other inventions. A typewriter works off of a spring system. When a key is pressed, the springs send the slug (the letter block) up towards the paper, where an ink ribbon moves up to get between the slug and the paper to make a letter. Then the typewriter moves the dial one space to the left to make room for another letter. The idea started with Johann Gutenberg in the late eighteenth century. Inventions came out later on similar to the typewriter, but none of them were very efficient. You would never be able to transport them. So if by the off chance you had one, you would only be able to have it in one spot. They keys were too hard to press down, and many mistakes were made while typing. Often times it took longer to write a letter of message on the typewriter than it would if you did it by hand.
Finally in 1867 Christopher Sholes for Milwaukee Wisconsin invented an efficient one. You were actually able to move it, the keys were easy to press down, and the font was more legible. On July 23 1868 he licensed his patent to Remington & Sons of Ilion, New York, a noted American gun maker. In 1874 the first commercial typewriter, was placed on the market.
Off of the typewriter came the mechanical typewriter, the first electric typewriter. This was invented by America’s own, Thomas Edison.
I think that the typewriter made communication with people more accurate, convenient, and easier. The typewriter led to the computer, which has lead us to the world we live in today. Without computers I would not be able to write this blog, and we know that without our blogs we can't learn any history.
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