Typewriters are still around but never used. Today, you can probably find gazillions of them in the back room of antique shops. They were mechanical machines that had the front that looked just like a keyboard. As a matter of fact that is where IBM (Whose name was really International Business Machines. IBM started in the '30s making electric typewriters) got the QWERTY keyboard idea from. The keyboard was in front of the typewriter connected at a comfortable angle. Behind it was a "bowl" with rods that moved when a letter was struck. These were the keys. They came up and struck paper that was inserted in front of a cylindrical platen called a carriage.
You put in a sheet of paper and began typing just like you do on today's keyboard. There was no way of correcting mistakes, if too many were made you had to start typing your document all over again. If you had an idea in the middle of typing, then you had to pencil it on the margin and type the page over again when done typing. You only had the font and size that the machine was made for and it looked like Courier. Typewriters were not friendly machines and many people, including myself were glad to see them go. The down side is that they were replaced with the Computer.
I hope this satisfies your curiosity. And, yes a typewriter is in the Smithsonian.
You put in a sheet of paper and began typing just like you do on today's keyboard. There was no way of correcting mistakes, if too many were made you had to start typing your document all over again. If you had an idea in the middle of typing, then you had to pencil it on the margin and type the page over again when done typing. You only had the font and size that the machine was made for and it looked like Courier. Typewriters were not friendly machines and many people, including myself were glad to see them go. The down side is that they were replaced with the Computer.
I hope this satisfies your curiosity. And, yes a typewriter is in the Smithsonian.
