Imagine being catapulted back in time to the second half of the 19th century, an era of fervent innovation and discovery. It’s a period where industry and technology are rapidly transforming the world, and in this dynamic context, an invention destined to revolutionize the way humanity communicates is about to be born.
The story begins with a group of visionaries daring to dream the impossible. Christopher Latham Sholes, a journalist from Milwaukee, is obsessed with the idea of creating a device that can improve the speed and efficiency of writing. Alongside Samuel Soule and Carlos Glidden, Sholes sets to work in a small laboratory, where amidst gears, levers, and a multitude of prototypes, an extraordinary invention begins to take shape.
The first typewriter.
After numerous attempts and failures, in 1868, the trio finally achieves a significant milestone: the creation of the first functional model of a typewriter, known as the “Sholes and Glidden Type Writer.”
This machine, which would become famous as QWERTY for the arrangement of its letters, represents a mechanical marvel of its time. Its appearance is bulky and ornate, with a design that almost resembles a musical organ, and its operation requires a certain skill, but the principle is revolutionary.
