The typewriter has two main antecedents: typography and the printing press. Typography is a process that allows for written language to be organized in a clear manner that can easily be followed. Along with this is the invention of a written text that began the practice of typography. Without this, there would be no reason to write because people would not be able to understand what is being written. The printing press allowed large quantities of writing to be imprinted on paper much more efficiently. This made the copying process quicker than it had been in the past and mechanized the copying and writing process. All of these parts are important to the whole process of the invention of the typewriter. These antecedents worked together to make the invention of the typewriter possible.
Typography has been an essential part of recording history. The basis for typography can be found in written language. When the printing press and typing became a part of society, people had to find a way to ensure that that the material being printed could be read. Typography was and is still used to organize typed material to ensure that it is legible for the literate public. It has evolved over time and has made typing more reader friendly.[1] An antecedent contained within the process of typography is written language and the alphabet. Without the creation of the writing system, there would be nothing to type. When a written language was formed, people not only had to give meaning to the symbols, but had to organize them in a way that could understood.[2] The shifts in the organization of the letters can be seen in written works as they change from place and place as well as between different periods of time. The way written text was organized 100 years ago is vastly different from the way it is organized today. While the changes may not always be completely obvious, differences in the organization of writing can be seen in writing.[3] This evolution of organization allowed for the further development of the written language and the possibility of the typewriter.
The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany.[4] It replaced slower stamping systems and hand copying texts. It started the mass production of texts, making it quicker and easier than it had ever been. The printing press also relied heavily on the process of typography to organize the letters in a way that would be legible. Elizabeth Eisenstein credited the printing press with helping to spur the scientific revolution.[5] This push to the scientific community could also have helped with the invention of the typewriter. Scientific advances allowed for the technology that would lead the typewriter. It made science more prevalent in society and also made the act of writing and typing more scientific and mechanical. Over the centuries, writing went from something done with hands and a quill to something done through a machine, something that would have an everlasting effect on people.
[1] Raoul Hausmann and John Cullars, “Typography,” Design Issues 14, no. 3 (1998): 72.
[2] Ibid., 71.
[3] Ibid., 71.
[4] Jeremiah Dittmar, “Information Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of the Printing Press,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 126, no. 3 (2011): 1133.
[5] Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 520.