The Yost typewriter was the invention of George Washington Newton Yost, one of the key pioneers in the development of the first manufactured typewriters. He played a major role in the promotion of the Sholes and Glidden typewriter (1874) for E. Remington & Sons.
His next venture was the creation of the American Typing Machine Co., which produced the Caligraph typewriters, among others. After considerable success, Yost left to develop a typewriter bearing his own name. An 1890 display ad clearly stated the two principles Yost believed were essential to his machine’s design: “No ribbon, direct printing, permanent alignment.”
Inking was achieved through a circular felt pad positioned around the top of the tower where the typebars rest. With no ribbon, the typebars struck the paper directly. Alignment was ensured by the ends of the typebars, which moved forward with a half-flip upward motion into a guide hole just beneath the platen.
The Yost office in Paris can be seen in the 1906 postcard shown below.
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