28. Electric typewriters

Electric typewriters also pushed their way into offices very early on. In 1871, Thomas Alva Edison had already invented an electrically driven typewriter, although this was never used. Two years later, the Pastor Malling Hanson fitted his typewriter with an electric drive. However, the high price hindered sales in such a way that manufacturing ceased after a few years. Various attempts at manufacturing electric typewriters were made between the turn of the century and the First World War, but most were unsuccessful.

In 1921, a new development got under way with the Mercedes Elektra. Finished in 1914 but hindered by the outbreak of the war, this model was the first effective electric typewriter in Europe and was therefore a true pioneer work.

In 1902, the American Blickensderfer small typewriter was launched as an electric model. This machine, which was also distributed in Europe, had little success. The principle here of an electrically driven type head would later enjoy sensational success at IBM, when in 1960 this company supplied machines with the legendary “golfhead”, representing the last revolutionary technical innovation in the development of typewriters.