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
Typewriter typewriter repairman quoted by "The Boston Globe", "Every maternity ward has a typewriter, as well as funeral homes". A fairly major typewriter user is the City of New York, which in 2008 purchased several thousand typewriters, mostly for use by the New York Police Department, at the total cost of $982,269. Another $99,570 was spent in 2009 for the maintenance of the existing typewriters. New York police officers would use the machines to type property and evidence vouchers on carbon paper forms. A rather specialized market for typewriters exists due to the regulations of many correctional systems in the US,