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Typewriter Keys

Ralph Steiner American
1921
Not on view
Seen from the vantage of electronic word processing, the revolution in communication caused by the manual typewriter is difficult to recall. The machine was a marvel that not only standardized and clarified the handwritten message but also affected the shape of thought. Thus, T.S. Eliot writing in 1916: "Composing on the typewriter, I find that I am sloughing off all my long sentences which I used to dote upon. Short, staccato, like modern French prose. The typewriter makes for lucidity, but I am not sure that it encourages subtlety...."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Typewriter Keys
  • Artist: Ralph Steiner (American, Cleveland 1899–1986 Hanover, New Hampshire)
  • Date: 1921
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: 20.7 x 15.6 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.1100.148
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Ralph Steiner, compliments of Estate
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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