Label
Permutation Typograph, ca. 1857
Benjamin Livermore
Harland, VT
Brass, steel
Transfer from Hartland Historical Society, 1982.6.1
Benjamin Livermore’s “Permutation Typograph” is a kind of early typewriter. He was far from the first to develop a machine for writing; many others had been experimenting with and tweaking mechanical devices for typing for decades before him.
Livermore, who lived in Hartland, patented his device and advertised it via pamphlets and public demonstrations. It’s not clear how widely it was produced. His innovation was in slimming down the device into something he could – and did – operate out of his own pocket. The six keys on the device could be used singly or in combination to select a letter or symbol, and could then type out notes in a kind of shorthand. The case held both type keys and a scroll of paper.
A family member recalled that he used the device personally: “He would print with it in the dark. He usually carried it in his pocket and could print it there, placing his hand in such a position that his fingers rested on the keys. After taking down the conversation of those he met, he placed it under his pillow at night to catch any stray thoughts, as he termed it.”
Livermore’s device, while not necessarily crucial in the larger story of printing, is a fascinating and highly personal story within that history. Livermore was a prolific inventor who also patented a machine for forming cement pipes and a boot crimper.