Thomas Hall, a Brooklyn engineer, invented this first index typewriter. A typewriter with no keyboard that requires one to use a selector to choose the characters while typing. It is housed in a handsome mahogany case with a beautiful brass handle and latch. The Hall originally sold for $40, a low price alternative to the $100 keyboard machines; a good horse-drawn carriage could be bought for $70.00. At a time when few people knew how to type efficiently with both hands, it seemed reasonable to the operator of the Hall to pick out the characters with one hand. The Martin Howard Collection