“It took 25 years to find out that typewriters have been built up-side-down.
The OLIVER is built right-side-up, where the work is in sight.”
— THE OLIVER TYPEWRITER COMPANY
Oliver Book Newsletter
After many years of researching and writing, I am pleased to announce The Oliver Typewriter: The Standard Visible Writer. This compendium takes the reader back in time over 170 years to join Reverend Thomas Oliver on a journey to manufacture the first successful typewriter that lets you see as you type. From an unabridged history of the company, to Oliver office supplies, accessories, keyboard configurations, patents, and manufacturing dates, The Oliver Typewriter: The Standard Visible Writeris the ultimate source of information on every typewriter bearing the Oliver name or design. An extensive gallery of over 600 images includes historical photographs of manufacturing facilities, factory foremen, corporate executives, detailed patent drawings, and modern, full-color images of common and rare Oliver typewriters.
This book is currently in the publishing stage. To receive publishing updates and release date information, join the newsletter by submitting your email using the form to the right. Thank you for your patience and I look forward to sharing this work with you!
Oliver No. 1 typewriter
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, most typewriters featured typing mechanisms that forced the typing line to remain hidden. Machines with visible writing were either relatively unsuccessful or only allowed a few lines of text to be seen at a time. Reverend Thomas Oliver's eponymous invention became the world's first commercially successful visible typewriter.
The Oliver typewriter introduced a revolutionary typing mechanism consisting of two towers of arching typebars which strike down onto the platen. The printing point always remained visible during typing with this setup. In addition, previously typed lines of text were always in sight, allowing the Oliver typewriter to become known as The Standard Visible Writer.
