The History of the Typewriter:
Being an Illustrated Account of the Origin, Rise and Development of the
Writing Machine. Known as "1909 Mares" in the typewriter collecting scene.
"Basically the Consumer Reports book for
typewriter buyers of 1909..." - The Archivist
Thirty years after the first prototype typewriters appeared, the market was still awash with bizarre competing designs that confused the buying public with sometimes nonsensical options.
Starting in 1906-1907 industry insider George Carl Mares obtained, tested and reviewed scores of the writing machines coming onto the market at that time, and describes the workings of each and his opinions of them. The pace of new typewriter design releases kept him updating his book until he finally published in 1909.
Now, in the 21st Century, typewriter collectors can read first hand accounts of the many machines that failed in the early market, and the few that succeeded and learn why - from the man who typed on them when they were new!