The typographer was an early typewriter invented by William Austin Burt.[1] Intended to aid in office work, the machine worked by using a lever to press characters onto paper one at a time.[2][3] It was the first typewriting machine to be patented in the United States, although Pellegrino Turri had made one in Italy in 1808.[4] Perhaps because of its slow speed, or because there was not yet a wide market for typewriters, it was not a commercial success.[2][3]