In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule of Milwaukee, Wisconsin received a patent for an invention he called a “Type-Writer” (U.S. No. 79,265). It only had capital letters and fit in a box about 2 feet square and 6" high. The typists didn't know if they were making errors because the paper could not be seen as it was being typed; it was inside the machine. It was described as an improvement on their earlier type-writing machine, which previous patent application they had filed 11 Oct 1867. The new features were “a better way of working the type-bars, of holding paper on the carriage, of holding, applying, and moving the inking-ribbon, a self-adjusting platen, and a rest or cushion for the type-bars to follow.” The Typewriter: An Illustrated History, by Typewriter Topics. - book suggestion.