2016/03/19

The Ingenious Edison Margin Justifier

Has any typospherian ever seen this Edison Margin Justifier? How does it work?

I saw it on the book Mechanical Typewriter that I bought a few years back. It is supposed to even up the right hand margin. According to the author,Thomas A. Russo, it was manufactured by Jusifier Sales Company in Los Angeles and could be mounted on most typewriters. 

Very ingenious device. My hat off to its inventor. I've always wondered how typewritten tests can be evened up on both margins, except calculating the exact number of strokes in each line. The Justifier seems to be the solution. But I've never seen it on eBay, so it must be rare. 





2 comments:

  1. I had forgotten all about this.

    On a machine such as the Varityper DSJ, you justify the margin by typing every line twice. The first line does not actually type, but it lets the machine calculate how much space must be inserted between words when you actually type the words the second time. This is a slow process, but it works. I wonder how this device did the job.

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    1. Thank you for your comment. Is the Varityper DSJ an electric typewriter? I cannot understand what does "the first line does not actually type" mean? if you don't actually hit the keys, how can the machine calculate the exact spaces? If you actually hit the key, then you practically type every line twice. Then it is indeed a very inefficient process.

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