History of the Typewriter

— 71 — strain, permits the principal bar to rise with unvarying accuracy. Another peculiar feature of the Densmore is its great rigidity and strength, the result of the framework being made in one solid casting. There being no screws or joints in the framework to get loose, there can be no twisting, warping, or other defect, and so the whole machine remains as tightly braced together at the end of many years’ constant use1 as it is the day it leaves the factory. It will be observed that the keyboard of the Densmore follows what is termed the Standard arrangement, but particular attention should be paid to the duplicate shift- key, enabling the change of case to be made by either hand, as may be more convenient, and to the “ back- spacer ” key, upon which the Densmore people set great store. The effect and value of the key will be readily understood. Every time the key is struck, the carriage goes back one tooth in the rack. Under ordinary condi- tions, when too much space has been left, or the space-bar inadvertently struck, it is necessary to leave off writing, and raising the hands to the carriage, gently coax it back to the required position. And everyone knows how tedious this operation is. It generally happens that instead of one tooth we send it back two or more teeth, and then have to space forwards again by means of the space-bar. If we assume that we have sent it back twice, and space once to make sure, then we find that it was in the proper position, and that after all we have left a double space. Almost from the earliest days of the career of the Densmore, a great point has been made of its ball-bearing type-bar, as seen in the illustration (Fig. 56). The wear and tear of the type-bars in their hangers has always presented a difficult problem for the typewriter inventor. We shall see how adjusting screws have been provided, and how forced alignment has been adopted in order to remedy an evil which it has been considered must of necessity arise. But in the Densmore, it is claimed that the difficulty is surmounted by the introduction of these ball-bearings, and certainly, from an inspection of work executed upon a Densmore of several years’ constant use, we consider that there is much to be said in support of the makers’ contention. As an example of the practi- cally unlimited wear they afford, it is stated that the first model of the ball-bearing type-bar was used for a year at hard work as a test before adoption (in 1895), and