Wonderful stuff, isn't it?
But there are signs of things to come. First, there's the problem of "large accumulations of paper, cardboard, etc." Here's a device for baling the paper so it's available for recycling:
And then there are these tabulating machines using punched cards:
the ancestors of the computer on which you are reading this post.
But what about typewriters?
You can download all the pages about typewriters
from the 1924 American Digest of Business Machines right here.
Love it! (we used to get inter library loans for free, now it's a fiver and the price puts you off a bit)
ReplyDeleteGreat info Richard. Thank you so much for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThose are some wonderful old machines. Some I've never heard of and a few I have. I especially like the Ross Rapid Computer: No Microsoft stuff needed and never gets a virus.
ReplyDeleteWho knew there was a "Computer Manufacturing Company" in San Francisco in 1924?
DeleteFantastic! (and quick!)
ReplyDeletePS, lovin' the OBEY background :D
The "Lightning Envelope Opener" looks like a recipe for disaster! I wonder if it comes with a "Do Not Try This at Home" warning sticker. Or, "You Multitask, You Bleed."
ReplyDeleteYeah, it looks like a great way to slice off some fingertips. Presumably they had a safety barrier of some kind!
DeleteOne hopes, tho I never met a safety barrier I couldn't violate, Darwin Award style. I'll spare you my Subway meat slicer story, or the time I almost crushed my right hand by reaching into a jammed box machine.
DeleteThe Alpina is bulbously beautiful, btw.
I smell your next book, Richard: 'The Papyrozoic Age'. I'm looking forward to it already.
ReplyDeleteI learned some awesome new Papyrozoic factoids from your post, thanks Richard.
ReplyDeleteAren't Interlibrary loans amazing?
ReplyDelete