History of the Typewriter

—191— Fig. 141. The depression of the shift-key does not affect the carriage, but raises the whole of the “ type-basket,” that is, the frame on which the type-bars rest, and so brings the upper case letters into position to strike the platen. The ribbon is a narrow one, and has the lateral feed, so that its effective lifetime is very much increased. It is absolutely automatic in its action, and reverses itself without friction in any way. Practically, the reversing arrangement is the same as in the case of the Remington, as already explained. The Monarch is provided with a tabulator, fitted with four stops. The tabulator key is fixed to the right hand post of the machine, and on being pressed, the carriage automatically flies to the point, at which the stop has been placed. The tabulator stops are fixed in a scaled rack-bar at the rear of the carriage and are protected by a hinged lid. Behind the ribbon carrier is a small slide, which, when pushed upward, will grip close to the platen and in such a position as to secure a perfect printing thereon, either a card for card indexing or postal purposes, or a short, thick or awkward envelope. The paper fingers slide along easily, and can be fixed so as to grip even the narrowest possible width of paper. There is no screwing or unscrewing, the pressure they exert is sufficient to hold the paper tightly, but not so