When exploring the History of Typography document, I was familiar with several concepts already. I knew about papyrus and clay tablets, as well as the early illuminated manuscripts created in monasteries. The modern portion of history was less familiar. I had difficulty envisioning what technologies went into the ever-advancing type machines. To help myself understand I decided to investigate the first generation of machines, specifically by looking into the Linotype.
The History of Typography pdf mentions a machine called the Linotype as an example of the first generation systems. The Linotype was created by Charles T. Moore, James Ogilvie Clephane, and Ottomar Merganthaler slowly over about fifteen years. The concept of the machine originated as an attempt to transmute telegraph signals into printed type. The project did not achieve that directly as they developed the Linotype instead.
Additional Reference:
http://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/noncastcomp/moore/: Typographic Antonyms
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