Ford Typewriter Ford Typewriter The Ford typewriter was an early prototype typewriter introduced in 1895 by Eugene A. Ford, who later became chief development engineer at IBM (no relation to Henry Ford who founded the Ford Motor Company). It was a commercial failure and only a few were manufactured. Unlike many competing typewriters of this time, it was a forward-striking machine, meaning the hammer struck forward against the paper which was held against the platen roller, instead of up from underneath. This allowed the typist to see the text as it was typed, which was not possible in most other typewriters of
Royal Typewriter Company a cheaper model. A Royal typewriter is a large story element in Stephen King's novel "Misery". "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer was known to write all of his scripts on a Royal typewriter. A Royal typewriter with a Prestige Elite typeface was one of the items found at Zodiac suspect Arthur Leigh Allen's apartment, matching the typewriter the Zodiac killer used to write letters sent to the Riverside Police Department. Jessica Fletcher used a Royal typewriter to write her novels. Mason Williams threw a Royal Model X typewriter out of a speeding car driven by Ed Ruscha for their art