TellZall's object for May is the typewriter.

For centuries inventors tried to produce a mechanical writing machine that could produce easily readable type faster and better than handwriting. Their attempts failed until Pennsylvania-born Christopher L. Sholes (1819-90), a journalist, printer, and inventor, tackled the problem in 1867. The following year he received a patent for a mechanical writing machine that, if not a complete success, at least showed promise. Sholes and his partners lacked funding to develop invention, and Remington and Sons Company, a sewing-machine and firearms manufacturer, acquired the rights.

The first Remington machine clearly displayed the company's background: it was painted black, was decorated with flowers, and was mounted on a table with a foot pedal mechanism to advance the paper, all design elements it shared with the company's sewing machines. The typewriter printed only capital letters, and the keys struck the paper from beneath the platen, or "roller," which prevented the typist from seeing the copy as he or she typed. The Remington was not a commercial success. The Remington No. 2, introduced in 1878, was. The machine was efficient and reliable and resembled later machines. Still, the typewriter was not an overnight success and only slowly became accepted in offices, the primary market.

Mark Twain was an early typewriter user. In 1874 the famous writer noted that "I am trying to get the hang of this new-fangled writing-machine, but am not making a shining success of it." He apparently lost patience with his attempts, for when Remington wrote him and asked for an endorsement some months later, Twain declined and said that the machine was ruining his morals because it made him want to swear. With his typical sardonic humor, he said that he had offered the machine to fellow writer William Dean Howells because Howells had no morals anyway.

Remington soon had competition. The Underwood No. 1, designed by German inventor Franz Wagner and introduced in 1895, was the first truly "visible" typewriter that permitted the typist to see the copy as it was being produced. Underwood did very well in the marketplace and the No. 5, introduced in 1901, was in production with minor modifications for thirty years; millions were sold. Other compaines, including Royal, Olivetti, and Smith-Corona, entered the market and prospered.

In 1925 Remington introduced an electric typewriter that used electricity to reduce the human effort; it was not successful. In 1930 International Business Machines (IBM) introduced their first electric, which began a long and successful lineage of electric machines. Later IBM machines, including the famous Selectric models, used type balls and type wheels, which allowed for different fonts.

The introduction of the personal computer and word-processing software in the 1970s spelled doom for the traditional typewriter. While antique machines are collectible and some keep the machines around for such tasks as addressing envelopes and labels, the typewriter has been supplanted by new technology.