History of the Typewriter

— 87 — used, and every vestige of colour taken up, before the ribbon need be discarded. It reverses itself automatically. The ribbon requires no pinning to fix it, a patent spool rendering this otherwise dirty operation unnecessary. Even the cleaning of the type has not escaped the eagle eye of the inventor. Inserted inside the machine and forming part of it, is a circular brush. A long crank can be inserted into the brush in a moment, and a few turns of this, and the type is cleaned. Compare this operation with the wearisome lifting up of type, one by one, so necessary to some other machines. The Smith Premier has a carriage, certainly, but it is not a carriage such as is generally understood by this Fig. 69 term. On the contrary, it might perhaps be more accurately described as a travelling framework, passing across the top of the machine, and carrying the platen. The platen it is that lifts, or rather tilts, in order to bring the writing in sight. This movement is effected with the slightest possible effort, and when carried out, the paper with the writing upon it is brought right in view of the operator. The written line is then just above the scale, and the location of any error, or missed letter, at once ascertained. We have said “ the ” scale, for owing to the simple nature of the carriage and platen tilting, only one scale is.required. Instead of bringing a scale to the writing, the writing is brought to the scale. The margin stops on the Smith Premier are as perfect as such devices can readily be. When set, they are set. There is no rebound, and they cannot slip. Should it be desired to write outside the margins, either to the right or left, it is easy to do so, and on the next line, when the set margins are again used, they recover themselves automatically.