Typewriter Keys

Ralph Steiner

1921 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

Seen from the vantage of electronic word processing, the revolution in communication caused by the manual typewriter is difficult to recall. The machine was a marvel that not only standardized and clarified the handwritten message but also affected the shape of thought. Thus, T.S. Eliot writing in 1916: "Composing on the typewriter, I find that I am sloughing off all my long sentences which I used to dote upon. Short, staccato, like modern French prose. The typewriter makes for lucidity, but I am not sure that it encourages subtlety...."

Artist

Ralph Steiner

Date

1921

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987