Viewing text as we type is taken for granted in the modern era. However, this was not always the case. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the typewriting industry was quickly developing. Before the Oliver typewriter joined the competition, the typist could not view the text as it was being typeset. This was industry standard across many successful brands including Caligraph, Densmore, Hammond, Remington, and Smith Premier. The ability to view the text as it was typed was first made possible by Thomas Oliver and his revolutionizing eponymic invention.

Oliver’s typewriter features two towers of typebars that strike down onto the platen, allowing the writing to remain visible at all times. Because of this design, Oliver typewriters were marketed and branded as "The Standard Visible Writer”. From 1893 to 1928, this basic design was utilized by the Oliver Typewriter Company on every model they manufactured.

Furthermore, The Oliver Typewriter (Sales) Company, Ltd. offered British Olivers for sale in England from 1928 to 1933 which implemented this same typing mechanism. That same company, which later became known as The Oliver Typewriter Manufacturing Company, Ltd., offered a downstrike Oliver from 1938 to 1947, making this the last run of machines featuring Thomas Oliver’s iconic visible writing mechanism.