Columbia Typewriter Co., New York
1892 - serial no.13133

Charles Spiro, who apprenticed in his father's New York watchmakers shop, invented the gorgeous Bar-Lock. He had previously invented the Columbia index typewriter.

The prominent ornate copper shield covers the type-bars that stand vertically behind. To print, the type-bars swing down to the top of the platen. Just before they strike the platen, the type-bars encounter a small semi-circle of metal pins that ensure alignment. Supposedly these pins also reduce the clashing of the type-bars, but they seem to have little if any effect on either matter. Non-the-less this typewriter gets its name from these alignment pins and their function as a 'bar lock' for the type-bars. See detail below.

This is a 'visible' typewriter, allowing you to see the words as you type them; however, you need to sit up quite straight to see over the curved shield.

This typewriter sold for $100.

"The Advantages of Visible Writing - "Writing in Sight" in other words simply means "knowing what you are doing," and being able to do it expeditiously."

Using the Columbia Bar-Lock is like using smokeless powder - you can see what you are doing -