This Standard Number 2 typewriter was manufactured by E. Remington and Sons in 1878. The Standard No. 2 was the first commercial typewriter, refined from the original designs of Christopher Sholes and Carlos S. Glidden. The Remington 2 was an upstriking machine, the carriage held the paper type-side down, and the keys would rise up and strike the paper through the ink ribbon from the bottom. This required typists to raise the carriage if they ever wanted to see what was written. The carriage reads “Keep the machine free from dust. Clean all of the top rods—especially the Shifting rod—with a greasy cloth Every day.” The Remington 2 had a QWERTY keyboard, and its commercial success led to it being adopted as a standard, even as its design was primarily to prevent the type bars from jamming and not to increase typing speed or ease of use.
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