A Chinese typewriter ”Mingkwai” was patented in 1946 in United States by Dr.Lin Yutang. The typewriter consisted of 7 000 characters and 90 000 words could be created. A prototype was built but the typewriter was never produced commercially.

The typewriter in our collection is from circa 1970. In every case there are about 2000 characters and the cases can be changed.  The typist uses the lever to pick up the required character. The character moves up and hits the paper. Typing is slow as the typist has to find the right character. Today the computer replace the typewriter.