Barlock

1889

Invented by New York watchmaker Charles Spiro, the Barlock offered visible writing by mounting its typebars vertically between the typist and the carriage. The name Barlock was derived from the typebar locking mechanism designed to insure proper alignment at the printing point. This device was nothing more than a set of pins that would allow only one key to enter it at a time, thus avoiding typebar crashing. Additionally, the Barlock offered a double keyboard and ribbon inking. Early models were equipped with ornate shields covering the typebars while later models used a more modest version.

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Anthony Casillo, typebar@aol.com