Social Implications of the Typewriter
The invention of the typewriter and the rise of business are inextricably linked with the typewriter almost instantly changing the way that business was done. The first widely marketable typewriter came to the business scene in 1868 and was quickly adopted so that by 1897 there were typing courses offered for those interested in becoming secretaries (Smith, 1897).
In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, in no small part due to the typewriter, business was becoming standardized. No longer did every piece of business correspondence need to be painstakingly handwritten. Forms and correspondence were easily reproduced and standardized and this contributed to the speed in which business moved. The typewriter “revolutionized business. It allowed for its expansion and sped up life...” (“The Typewriter”, 2011).
Evans (1956) adds:
In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, in no small part due to the typewriter, business was becoming standardized. No longer did every piece of business correspondence need to be painstakingly handwritten. Forms and correspondence were easily reproduced and standardized and this contributed to the speed in which business moved. The typewriter “revolutionized business. It allowed for its expansion and sped up life...” (“The Typewriter”, 2011).
Evans (1956) adds:
The typewriter has been one of the great transforming factors of modern
business. It has helped bring about the development of commercial schools;
it has helped open the doors of business life to women; and it has helped
speed up the tempo of business life in general (p.v).
The typewriter came of age at the same time as the rise of women in the workplace. It wasn’t just the invention of the
typewriter that facilitated women leaving the home to find work however the typewriter was instrumental in creating a niche for women to fill. The Census Bureau lists that 81% of typists were female by 1910 (Acocella, 2007). Women had long been in the business world as secretaries doing clerical work however the rise of the typewriter meant new skills and new responsibilities in these roles. Shorthand and typing became indispensable. The rise of the typewriter in the workplace meant that the job of the secretary moved from being an unskilled to a skilled position (“The Typewriter”, 2011).
typewriter that facilitated women leaving the home to find work however the typewriter was instrumental in creating a niche for women to fill. The Census Bureau lists that 81% of typists were female by 1910 (Acocella, 2007). Women had long been in the business world as secretaries doing clerical work however the rise of the typewriter meant new skills and new responsibilities in these roles. Shorthand and typing became indispensable. The rise of the typewriter in the workplace meant that the job of the secretary moved from being an unskilled to a skilled position (“The Typewriter”, 2011).
Perhaps because of its early association with secretaries, the typewriter was not initially seen as a device to compose writing on. The typist was the person who typed but not the person who decided what to type. The user of the typewriter took dictation, turned spoken word into print and nothing more (Acocella, 2007).
Lost in Transcription: Postwar Typewriting Culture, Andy Warhol’s Bad Book, and the Standardization of Error by Paul Benzon (2010) is an interesting article about the typewriter at the height of its use. It discusses how the typewriter, unlike handwriting and unlike the word processor, is a machine that does not allow for mistakes. Each keystroke is permanent and when mistakes are made, they remain part of the document or the document is retyped from the beginning. The typewriter was not a serious tool for writers because it was impossible to go back to edit writing once it was typed out. However, what made the typewriter useless for writers was exactly what made it perfect for business because the nature of business was very formulaic and impersonal.
Another cultural phenomenon that the arose from the invention of the typewriter was the QWERTY keyboard. Sholes created this key arrangement to stop the individual arms from getting stuck. In 1936, August Dvorak created an
alternate keyboard that was much more user-friendly, but by then people were used to the QWERTY keyboard and did not want to learn another way of typing (Rehr, n.d.). Even as late as 2006 people have been trying to change the QWERTY keyboard. In 2006 Shai Coleman released a complete keyboard called the "Colemak" which left 17 keys in identical locations as the QWERTY keyboard (Soukenik, 2010). Soukenik (2010) indicates the reason behind leaving 17 keys in identical locations was to "ease the learning and preserve the location of frequent keyboard shortcuts". Even with easier-to-use keyboard configurations, many people today still use the QWERTY keyboard arrangement which can be seen on most word processors, computer keyboards, laptop keyboards, etc...
alternate keyboard that was much more user-friendly, but by then people were used to the QWERTY keyboard and did not want to learn another way of typing (Rehr, n.d.). Even as late as 2006 people have been trying to change the QWERTY keyboard. In 2006 Shai Coleman released a complete keyboard called the "Colemak" which left 17 keys in identical locations as the QWERTY keyboard (Soukenik, 2010). Soukenik (2010) indicates the reason behind leaving 17 keys in identical locations was to "ease the learning and preserve the location of frequent keyboard shortcuts". Even with easier-to-use keyboard configurations, many people today still use the QWERTY keyboard arrangement which can be seen on most word processors, computer keyboards, laptop keyboards, etc...
The typewriter was never a driving force in the world of writing however it gave rise to the word processor. Benzon (2010)
writes:
writes:
The typewriter is effectively a lost technology, occupying a strange, interstitial space in
the broader field of media history, a fulcrum between the movable type of modern print
culture and the malleable digital information of postmodern electronic clutter (p. 93).
The typewriter lives as an artifact to the standardization of business and the current digital age of type.