howeenterprise.com
Monday, February 13, 2017
Page #9
Learn about antiques and collectibles with Dr. Georgia Caraway from left to right on the top row of letters. Sholes ingenious QWERTY design alleviated the problem of popular keys (such as t and h) sticking together when hit in quick succession. QWERTY keyboards separated letters frequently used in sequence and those used most often. However, these upstrike typewriters were not very popular. In 1878, Remington released an updated version known as Standard No. 2 that could type lowercase letters. The Standard #2 became the first commercially successful typewriter. It was not until 1908, that Remington introduced its front-strike model. In 1896, the Underwood Typewriter Company introduced many of the features we recognize Dr. Georgia Caraway as standard in modern typewriters —four rows of keys, with a shift Although the first patent for a key and a front strike. Most typewriter was registered in 1714, typewriters were patterned after it was not until Christopher Sholes the Underwood by the 1920s. developed and produced the first commercial typewriter in the Collectors seek out manual United States in 1874, the typewriters that were produced Remington Sholes & Glidden. Gun prior to the 1930s. Although a manufacturers, Remington & Sons, form of the electric typewriter was were looking to diversify its created in 1908, it became popular business with the end of the Civil with the invention of James Fields War. In that first year, Remington Smathers of Kansas City of what is produced 1,000 S&G typewriters, considered the first practical making it the first mass-produced power-operated typewriter in machine. This first machine could 1914. In 1920, after returning from only print capital letters and the Army service, he produced a typing arm struck the paper from successful model and in 1923 underneath—a design called turned it over to the Northeast upstrike or understrike. The typist Electric Company of Rochester for could only see what they were development. The Electromatic, typing by lifting the carriage. introduced by IBM in the 1930s, ushered in the popularity of the The Remington Sholes machine electric typewriter. was the first to utilize the still used “QWERTY” keyboard, named for The most ever paid for a the sequence of keys that goes typewriter was $80,000. “This
typewriter belonged to Ian Flemming, who is the author of the James Bond novels. It was purchased by Pierce Brosnan who played James Bond in “Tomorrow Never Dies.” Average prices for typewriters range from $30 to $1,000. Dr. Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, and her friends opened the Howe Mercantile at 107 East Haning. Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p.m. She has written five Denton history books. Her latest, North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, is available at Howe Mercantile. She hopes her next
book will be the history of Howe. If anyone has photos that she can copy, please bring them to Howe Mercantile. Downtown Howe has three gift and antique shops—Howe Mercantile, Texas Home Emporium, and Stark Farms Gifts. SHOP LOCAL. We can show you Howe! MARK YOUR CALENDAR: April 8 is the date for the Annual BBQ and Auction for the Save the Church restoration project. If you wish to donate to the auction, please bring your item(s) to Howe Mercantile or to 101 East Haning (Howe Chamber office).
