Hammond Multiplex

Typewriters are fascinating devices and hold interest because they are fast disappearing as laser printer and inkjets take their place. This machine caught my eye in the Stellenbosch Village Museum, South Africa. I'd not seen a typewriter built like this before - it has the letters spread around a drum - I guessed to allow easy changing of typeface, as with an IBM Selectric golf-ball, or the Diablo Daisywheel. According to a page at the Virtual Typewriter Museum the Hammond Multiplex allowed you to switch between two fonts is a matter of seconds.