The Morris is about as strange as typewriters got, not the least being a white rubber platen. The carriage traverses the platen along two metal rods. Within the carriage is a rubber index plate that is moved into position with a wooden knob, that the typist depresses to bring the rubber character onto the paper. The advertisement states that the Morris writes 70 words a minute. However, after typing on this Morris, I would be surprised if 15 words could be achieved. One of the main problems is that the leaf spring that holds up the index assembly is very strong and requires a hard push down to print. Also one would be slowed down with the metal index pointer being positioned so close to the index plate, as the pointer would scratch and rub against its surface with any attempt of speed. The Martin Howard Collection