The Typewriter

The typewriter used by the first Argosy staff probably looked similar to this model.

At the time the typewriter was the most universal business machine.

Originally, the keys on typewriters were arranged in a different manner. But as people became accustomed to using the typewriters, they were able to type at a faster rate. This caused the keys that striked the page to become jammed. In order to slow down the typing and solve the jamming problem, the keys that were commonly used to form words were rearranged. This became known as the "QWERTY" keyboard.

With the advent of non impact typewriters and computers, it was decided not to change the arrangement of the letters because everyone had become so accustomed to the "qwerty" keyboard.

The image was found at:

http://drudgemm.com/typewriters/images/rvisibl1.jpg