The inventor, James Bartlett Hammond
The Hammond typewriter was invented by James Bartlett Hammond in 1879. It’s unique anvil and shuttle design would continue all the way until 1970. Born out of a desire for perfect, even type with the same impression for each character, Hammond took the rough start of John Pratt’s Pterrotype, and elevated it to an iconic design.
The magic of the Hammond typewriter is it’s type-shuttle system, a replaceable sett of characters, cast in hardened rubber that made impressions in ink on a piece of paper. This could be quickly swapped for others, allowing it to type in many languages, fonts, and professional settings.
This ingenious concept began with John Pratt and his Pterrotype.