commercially viable typewriters were patented in the period just after the civil war. the challenge of mass-producing precise movable parts was met by refinements of earlier industrial methods. the typewriter helped standardize communications and behaviors.
Women entered the workforce as clerks and typists, their roles partly defined by these mechanized processes and protocols. It proved to be a tool in helping women's suffrage.
Since typewriters were faster and more accurate than handwriting, they allowed for quicker and clearer documents, as well as making corrections and producing multiple copies which helped standardize the appearance of documents, which was necessary for businesses.
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As a side note: here's my Olivetti graphica (1958), with its Cassandre typeface.
I wrote my first papers here. The best so-called "proportional typewriter" (it's all about spacing between fonts) and that carbon ribbon's indelibly superb mark!
