notable typewriters These typewriters from my collection all mark their place in history by having new and notable design features. Select the typewriter images to see more. Stenograph 1 First machine for typing shorthand – 1879 Hall 1 First index typewriter (no keyboard) and the world’s first portable – 1881 Hammonia First European typewriter, Hamburg Germany – 1884 Crandall 1 First typewriter to use a single type element instead of type bars – 1883 Columbia 1 One of the few early typewriters to use proportional spacing – 1885 Victor First typewriter to use a daisy wheel – 1889 McLoughlin Brothers First typewriter to be marketed for children – 1890 Blickensderfer 5 First portable keyboard typewriter – 1893 Daugherty First typewriter to have the three design elements that would define the modern typewriter – 1894 Ford The first typewriter to use the new metal aluminum in its construction – 1895 Underwood 1 The typewriter that set the standard design for the 20th century – 1896 Hall Braille-writer 1 The first successful mechanical point writer for the blind – 1892