Hammond typewriter with 2-row curved keyboard and braille strip, c. 1894

Hammond typewriter adapted for the blind with 2-row curved keyboard and Braille strip, c.1894. Adapted form of Hammond No.1 typewriter, an early American typewriter with two-row ebony "piano" keys and mahogany base, interchangeable two-piece type-shuttle with rubber characters, striking spring-loaded hammer behind the carriage, cylindrical paper-holder under the plate.

The first Hammond typewriters were produced in the early 1880s and these and the wide variety of later models all carried the characters on a semi-circular metal segment or shuttle mounted on a wheel at the tip of the machine. Each wheel carried two shuttles and a range of them were available with different languages, styles of letter, scientific symbols, as well as Braille. This typewriter came with a very special type element called a "shuttle" - specifically the Braille shuttle.

This typewriter was adapted for use by the blind and partially sighted as evidenced by the Braille markings embossed on the carriage; the numbers 1 to 9 in Braille on the marker strip across the platen, which would help in setting tabs; raised pads on some of the keyboard keys; and a very special type of “shuttle”, a Braille shuttle. Otherwise the typewriter is of typical Hammond design of the time.