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The International Exhibition: Mitchel's type-composing machine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
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The International Exhibition: Mitchel's type-composing machine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Mitchel's type-composing machine, 1862. The compositor is in shape a right-angled triangle, placed horizontally, with a keyboard at one of the sides furnished with thirty-nine keys. Each key, when pressed, strikes out a type from one of an equal number of brass slides standing at an incline upon the machine in a row nearly parallel with the keyboard. The type...is placed on end and pushed forward to make room for the next type by means of a notched or serrated wheel...The principle of the machine consists in the combination of bands of lengths and velocities of revolution so varied as to enable the types, at different distances from the wheel, to reach it in the order in which the keys are struck. The compositor is capable of setting up types at the rate of six letters per second, or 21, 600 per hour; but, as the human fingers cannot attain to such rapidity, and allowance must be made for the operations of justifying and correcting, the work of an average trained operator will probably not exceed 24, 000 or 25, 000 ens per day, which is about equal to the work of two men setting up type in the ordinary mode. As each machine can employ two operators, the daily production is about 50, 000 ens'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862
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Media ID 35125677
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1862 International Exhibition Compositor Cultural Event Exposition Great London Exposition Industrial Revolution International Exhibition Of 1862 Invention Keys Machine Machinery Manufacturing Mechanisation Media Industry Patent Patented Trade Fair Type World Fair Worlds Fair Illustrated London News White And Black
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This photograph showcases Mitchel's type-composing machine, a groundbreaking invention exhibited in 1862. The creator of this masterpiece remains unknown, but the innovation it brought to the world of typography is undeniable. The compositor, shaped like a horizontal right-angled triangle, houses a keyboard at one side with thirty-nine keys. Each key, when pressed, strikes out a type from a row of brass slides, which are nearly parallel to the keyboard. The type, placed on end, is pushed forward to make room for the next character by means of a notched or serrated wheel. The machine's principle lies in the combination of bands of varying lengths and velocities of revolution, enabling types at different distances from the wheel to reach it in the correct order. Mitchel's type-composing machine could set up types at an astonishing rate of six letters per second or 21,600 per hour. However, the human operator could not match this speed, and factors such as justifying and correcting the types brought the daily production down to approximately 24,000 to 25,000 ens (characters) per day. With each machine employing two operators, the daily production reached a remarkable 50,000 ens. This photograph is a testament to the ingenuity and innovation of the past, paving the way for the rapid advancements in typography that followed.
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