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The American Visible typewriter was a
product of the American Typewriter Company, manufacturer
of a variety of typewriters from 1893 through the early
part of the twentieth century.
The American Visible was an index typewriter that printed from
rubber type on a slider. Advertisements gave the illusion
that the machine was a fully functioning keyboard
typewriter. It was not. It was controlled by a
finger thimble that hovered above the keyboard. The
desired character was printed by placing one's finger in the
thimble and sliding it over that character on the American's
simulated keyboard. Once a character was selected,
depressing the thimble caused the entire keyboard to lower thus
pivoting a print hammer into the typeface for printing. An
ink pad, located between the sliding type and the platen
contacted the typeface for inking.
Another variation of this model, with a curved front edge, used
a sliding pointer to select a character for printing. On
this model, the keyboard did not lower but instead used a lever
at the left of the keyboard to actuate the print
hammer. On both versions, a spacebar was
located in front of the keyboard. This design was also
sold under the name Young American Typewriter.
The American Visible is a simple yet charming example of an
early writing machine.
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AMERICAN VISIBLE TYPEWRITER