The World Typewriter

The World Type Writer Company of Portland—incorporated in Maine Aug. 19, 1886—patented the World Typewriter two months later.

Two models of this delightful machine were produced with small variations. The World 1 wrote capital letters only. The World 2 wrote capitals and small letters.

The machine worked as simple as the other index writers. The user would point at a letter with the swinging index pointer and then stamp the letter onto the paper, using the keys over the platen on the left. This brought down the printing hammer onto the semi-circular rubber type sheet that was attached to the top of the index. An ink pad kept the type constantly inked. [Link]

Mabel Loomis Todd used a World Typewriter when setting Emily Dickinson's poems in type for the first time.

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Birthday Man Dies

Elwyn W. Lancaster, who died Sunday in Lee, had a peculiar talent.

Elwyn had a remarkable memory for dates and numbers and was known in the community as the "Birthday Man." He loved to greet people by their birth dates as he sat at McDonald's. Often times, he would receive birthday cards signed only with birth dates. He could recite hundreds of birthdays, anniversaries and social security numbers. He was even interviewed by the local news station for this tremendous talent.

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