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The Glidden-Sholes prototype for \u201cthe writing of ordinary communications with types instead of a pen\u201d was granted a patent on 23rd June, 1868. It wasn\u2019t the first typewriter, but it became the first to be mass-produced, and gave the world a new way to write things down.\nBut it only typed out in uppercase, didn\u2019t yet have a QWERTY keyboard, and users couldn't actually see what they were typing. It also looked like a sewing machine, having been developed in collaboration with sewing machine manufacturer Remington.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how it was not Glidden or Sholes, but actually investor James Densmore, who was most responsible for making it a hit; reveal what a \u2018Japanning Finish\u2019 is; and consider the role of Remington\u2019s marketing department in creating the \u2018typing pool\u2019 and - therefore - a generation of jobs for women\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Improvement in Type-Writing Machines: Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 79,265\u2019 (United States Patent Office, 1868):\xa0\nhttps://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f2/f8/c2/77225faf96c627/US79265.pdf\n\u2022 \u2018The typewriter: an informal history\u2019 (IBM Archives, 1977): https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/modelb/modelb_informal.html\n\u2022 \u2018How QWERTY conquered keyboards\u2019 (VOX, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8f6us-Sjlo\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices