Object Details
- Francis, Dr. Samuel Ward
- Description
- This is a typewriter patented by Dr. Samuel Ward Francis of Newport, Rhode Island in 1857. The patent received number 18,504 and claimed the principal improvements of arranging the hammers in a circle, a common printing center, with a key operation similar in manner to that of a piano. The typewriter consists of a wooden box with attached mechanism for typing. The ivory keyboard is similar to a piano's and extends the length of the front, earning the writing machine the “Literary Piano” nickname.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Samuel Ward Francis
- 1857
- ID Number
- ME.180060
- catalog number
- 180060
- accession number
- 21102
- Object Name
- typewriter
- Other Terms
- typewriter; Manual
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- bone, ivory (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 8 5/8 in x 25 3/8 in x 22 3/4 in; 21.9075 cm x 64.4525 cm x 57.785 cm
- place made
- United States: Rhode Island, Rhode Island, Newport
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Mechanisms
- Typewriters
- Computers & Business Machines
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_850543
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-9d6a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
