The Ford is a most impressive typewriter and a prime example of late 19th-century mechanical aesthetic, with its beautiful two-toned anodized, ornate grill and gracefully integrated keyboard.
It was a machine to grace the eyes, but not one that would have endeared itself to the typist. The keys are rather springy and wobbly when typing, and the line advance lever surprisingly lacks a line-by-line clicking action to move the platen back or forward one line at a time. To make matters worse, the shift keys for capitals and figures require a firm push to operate, not an ideal design for fast typing. However, what the Ford did offer was visible writing, allowing the typist to see the words on the paper as soon as they were typed. While it was not the first to achieve this, most contemporary typewriters were still blind writers, requiring the carriage to be lifted to view the last typed lines.
The Ford typewriter also broke ground as the first typewriter to incorporate the new metal aluminum in its construction. It was sold in two versions: one with an all-aluminum frame and carriage, and the other, like the example shown here, with a cast iron, black-enameled frame and aluminum carriage. Both versions feature a beautiful grill.
The Ford is a lateral thrust machine, with typebars arranged in a fan-like configuration. When typing, the typebars move horizontally to strike the platen. The first typewriter to have this lateral thrust design was the Rapid from 1890.
The Ford was invented by Eugene A. Ford (1866–1948), a man with a distinguished career. He worked with Herman Hollerith, director of the United States Census and founder of the Tabulating Machine Company. Hollerith developed the first mechanical punched card data processing system, which revolutionized data collection and analysis for the U.S. Census. Used to full effect during the 1890 census, the system shortened the data tabulation process by two years. It was during this time that Ford worked on his typewriter, receiving a patent in 1892 and launching it to market in 1895.
Ford continued his career with IBM, becoming chief development engineer at IBM’s New York laboratories in 1911. Over the years, he developed and patented many improvements to punched card accounting machines, sorters, and counter devices. Seen below in a 1925 IBM archive photo is Eugene Ford pictured with his sorter machine.
Also shown below is a wonderful photo of Eugene Ford celebrating his 80th birthday with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Watson Sr., Chairman and CEO of IBM.
We are fortunate that Eugene Ford turned his attention to typewriters in his early years.
“Bristling with Novelties”
“4 CARDINAL POINTS” Visible Writing, Speed, Unalterable alignment, Simplicity of Construction”
“THE FIRST WRITING MACHINE adopting ALUMINUM is the FORD TYPEWRITER”
