Although the typewriter was first patented in the early eighteenth century, a commercial machine was not produced and put on the market until the later nineteenth century (1874). The typewriter proved a boon to dime novel authors, who no longer had to write their weekly stories (often between 50,000 and 75,000 words) long-hand.
In this issue of Secret Service(January 10, 1902), the Bradys wrest an incriminating document from the hands of an untrustworthy typist; her typewriter is visible on the desk behind. By the end of the nineteenth century, the typewriter had become an ubiquitous fixture in business offices around the world.