• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    15 months ago

    Looks like most typewriters before 1973

    Typewriters before this time did possess a backspace key, but it simply moved the carriage back one character space so the typist could use whiteout to remove a mistake. When struck, the correction key of IBM Selectric II would use internal correction tape to remove the mistake and replace it with a letter key manually chosen by the user

    Read more at the ANSI Blog: Invention of the Backspace Key https://blog.ansi.org/?p=7178

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      05 months ago

      but it simply moved the carriage back one character space so the typist could use whiteout to remove a mistake

      So use whiteout!

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        15 months ago

        This works fine for informal things, like a correspondence with a friend, inter office communication, or perhaps a rambling Zine. However, for something formal like a resume, this would be bad etiquette.

        Just a side note, If your mistake was found after removing your paper from the typewriter, good luck getting the paper re-aligned on any typewriter without decent detents built into the platen.