Music typewriters were developed in the 19th century, but it wasn't until the mid 1900s that they became popular. Musicians usually specialized in using these machines. Several different models were invented, but there were two different concepts that became standard. The Keaton Music Typewriter looked very different from a regular typewriter. It had two keyboards, one which was moveable and one stationary. The other models were much like a regular typewriter. They employed musical symbols instead of letters. Staff paper or blank paper was slipped in the carriage and the keys struck. After the music was printed on a music typewriter, the original was photographed or copied to make the extra copies necessary to distribute and sell.

Chronology of Music Writing Machines

1868 - J. Lang patented the idea of having a machine stamp the notes with the letters in the note heads.

1885 - Columbia Music Typewriter

1872 - F. M. Green used rubber stamps with an inking pad to write music. Other musical symbols were completed with a pen.

1888 - Music typewriter invented by Angelo Tessaro of Padua, Italy. The machine stamped musical symbols onto a zinc plate which was then used for printing on paper. Several publishing companies used this method but found it unpractical and difficult to make corrections.

1891 - E. Ball invented a circular disk that contained rubber music stamps on one side. It was set with the music symbols facing the paper on a table. The disk was spun to the opposite side of the place where the symbols were to be printed. The disk was pressed down to ink the rubber stamps. It was then spun again to the position where the symbol was to be printed and pressed down to print. Other symbols were done by hand.

1891 - G. Royale invents a square device with guide rails on which two slides sit. Both slides move up and down, and side to side. One slide was used to draw the staff. The other slide was equipped with buttons that contained musical symbols. These were pressed onto the paper to print the music. This seems to be the precursor of the Keaton Music Typewriter.

1892 - Engraving Machine

1892 - Machine for Printing Music

1892 - Method of Producing Music or Like Engravings

1892 - Apparatus for Writing Music

1896 - Music-Writing Machine

1897 - Typograhic Blanks to be Employed for the Impression of Music and Plain-chant

1899 - Improvements in Devices for Copying or Printing Music

1900 - Music Typewriter

1900 - Type-writing Machine for Writing Music

1901 - Improvements in Apparatus for Impressing Stereotype Matrices with Musical Notes or Other Characters

1902 - Improvements Relating to Typewriters

1902 - A New or Improved Method for Printing Music and Apparatus

1903 - Music-typewriter

1903 - Improvements in Typing Machines for Music

1905 - Method of and Appliances for Music Printing

1905 - Music Type-writer

1905 - A machine is invented by F. Dogilbert in Paris, France, which stamps music onto paper.

1906 - Improvements in Music Typewriters

1906 - A New or Improved Music Writing Machine

1906 - H. & M. Wiedmar patented a machine that was described as having a carriage where paper was placed and "something like the ordinary typewriter keyboard".

1908 - G. N. M. Lafarie patented a machine that was similar to the typewriter but used fourteen piano keys that were struck to print notes.

1910 - Nocoblick

c1920 - Dr. Reginald S. Clay of London, England patented a machine that punched the note heads, signs, and other musical symbols onto music plates. Other parts of the plate were finished by hand.

c1923 - Rev. J. Walton invents the Walton Music Typewriter which used a revolving drum to print the music symbols on the paper and was one of the few machines that could print band and orchestral scores.






Bailey's Harmony Writer

Device for Printing Musical and Other Characters

Dogilbert

Keaton - About, Keaton - How It Works

Melotyp - About, Melotyp - How It Works

Musicwriter II

Musicwriter - About, Musicwriter - How It Works

Smith Corona

Walton