Keyboard Builders' Digest / Keyboard Spotting
Type-Writing Machine, 1879
The first(?) steno machine patented by Miles M. Bartholomew in 1879.
Published May 20, 2022
@StenoKeyboards posted his find last week, but I wanted to wait until today since a certain Miles M. Bartholomew was granted the patent of his contraption on 20 May, 1879 – exactly 143 years ago.
The very first stenography machine patented by Miles Bartholomew in 1879 was called a "Type-Writing Machine" so it's still historically accurate to say that I'm typing something in steno – @StenoKeyboards.
While Peter's comment is more about the usage of the term typing, I'm not entirely sure this was the first steno machine since both the title and text of the patent claims it's "an improvement".
From the original patent, No. 215,554:
Be it known that I, Miles M. Bartholomew, of Belleville, St. Clair county, in the State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Stenographic Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.
Regardless, this is a cool find and reminds me of my very first post on r/ErgoMechKeyboards about a split typewriter – part of the first kbd.news proto-issue. :D You can't find it on this site (yet?) because those first issues were simple weekly Reddit posts titled "quick links".
I managed to upload half of that "historic" issue now: KBD#1. :D
Published on Fri 20th May 2022. Featured in KBD #79 (source).
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