Autotypist c. 1936 (type-bar, front strike).

The Autotypist comprised of: a machine quite like a typewriter which punched holes in a reel of papers and a regular typewriter with both typewriters fixed on the opposite sides of a desk. Standard paragraphs were punched onto reels of papers by the first machine. Then the typist pressed buttons corresponding with the particular paragraphs they required to be typed on the regular typewriter. When the typist pressed the start button, the appropriate paragraph was typed on the regular typewriter. The keys of the regular typewriter were operated by air valves which resolved the holes on the relevant reel(s) of punched paper into the relevant paragraphs. The machine could also be stopped for the typist to enter a non-standard paragraph and then restarted.

The Autotypist was an automatic typewriter which was first introduced commercially c.1924 in the USA. About 200 Autotypists of later design were installed in the UK by the British Equipment Company Limited, South Kensington, London. The device remained in use until the 1960s and possibly beyond.