History of the Typewriter

—269— two shift-keys, and the general appearance of the Eclipse was such that even an expert might,, at first glance, mistake it for a Brooks ; if indeed, the Eclipse be not the Brooks under another name. Edison-Mimeograph. This machine’ was placed upon the market by the A. B. Dick Co., who stated that their object in so doing was to provide a machine at a low price and which could be relied upon at all times to cut a good stencil for use with their duplicating apparatus. The front part of the machine was arranged as an index plate, and on top of the machine was a hinged carriage which travelled and lifted in the usual way. The types themselves were separate pieces, as in the Merritt, . and were set in a circular frame so that when the index-pointer was turned it brought the corresponding letter under the printing point. The printing key was then depressed and a small hammer struck upwards and drove the type home. The machine did not find its usefulness entirely confined to stencil cutting, but would also turn out very good work as an ordinary machine, although, of course, not at a very high speed. The machine had not been on the market long before it was withdrawn by the promoters who did not wish to compete with the makers of other machines who used their duplicating apparatus. Essex. A low-priced type-wheel machine which existed but a very short time. The keyboard was of the universal order, and worked by means of two shift-keys. The type was arranged on the periphery of a segment ot a Fig. 196