The Story of the Typewriter, 1873-1923

"The Story of the Typewriter, 1873-1923" by the Herkimer County Historical Society is a historical account published early in the 20th century. This work commemorates the invention and evolution of the typewriter over a fifty-year period, highlighting its significant role in transforming communication and business practices. The book explores the typewriter's impact on society, particularly its contribution to the economic emancipation of women and the overall progression of modern life. The opening of the book introduces the historical context of the typewriter's invention, beginning with its roots in the little Mohawk Valley village of Ilion, New York. The text discusses the gradual realization of a need for a writing machine and outlines the early attempts at creating such devices, beginning from the 18th century with Henry Mill's patent, to the pivotal moment when Christopher Latham Sholes and his colleagues developed the first practical typewriter in the late 1860s. The narrative sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of the typewriter's technological advancements, societal impacts, and the key figures involved in its development, ultimately laying the groundwork for understanding how this groundbreaking invention revolutionized communication. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Herkimer County Historical Society is located in the Eckler House which is adjacent to the 1884 Suiter Building, a historic home in Herkimer, Herkimer County, New York. It is a 2+1⁄2-story, wood-frame structure with red pressed brick walls laid in black mortar built in 1884. It features a complex pitched roof of slate with a brick corbelled cornice and terra cotta ornament along the roof edge. There is also an octagonal peaked roof above the corner tower. Built originally as a private home, it was unfinished at the time of its builders death in 1925 and given to the Herkimer County Historical Society who occupied it in 1935. It the mid-1990s the Society built and renovated the adjacent Eckler House and moved its offices into that building. The Suiter building remained the museum and repository for artifacts and ephemera.