Typewriter

The history of the typewriter dates back to the 18th century, when British engineer Henry Mill obtained a patent for the design of a device that could print individual letters so clean and accurate that they could be mistaken for ones that came out of a printing press. The invention of a practical typewriter is commonly attributed to American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, who constructed his first useful typewriter in 1867. From then on, typewriters were manufactured in series. In 1903 they were also manufactured by Bernhard Stoewer's factory in Szczecin, located in Warsower Strasse (today Krasińskiego Street) – before starting the typewriter business, he was known for the production of sewing machines. The models manufactured by Stoewer’s company was acclaimed at industrial exhibitions, where they received numerous awards, such as the gold medal of the 1910 Industrial Exhibition in Manchester. From the end of the 1920s, the financial situation of the Stoewer plants began to deteriorate. Due to strong competition and unfavourable economic situation, the company faced a crisis. In 1930, the typewriter business was sold to Rheinmetall. The remaining part of Stoewer, which manufactured sewing machines and bicycles, ceased to exist on 21 March 1933.

Anna Lew-Machniak