Bar-lock typewriter 1889, Pattern No.7, Machine No.21826

Bar-lock typewriter, Pattern No.7, Machine No.21826, 1889. Designed by Charles Spiro, a New York watchmaker, this was one of the first typewriters that allowed its user to see what they were typing, its type bars striking the paper from above, not below as in earlier designs. Unfortunately, the typist still has to peer over the type bars, which are placed between the keyboard and the paper. The machine's name comes from a mechanism to prevent jamming that locks each bar as it strikes the paper. The double keyboard has both capitals and lower case characters without the use of a shift key.