Typed letters were still a novelty in the early 20th century, and recipients were sometimes offended by these seemingly impersonal notes. Such was the case when the Duchess of Marlborough sent out correspondence from her typewriter. “How horrid! How American!” was the feeling of some. Of course the Duchess was American: Consuelo Vanderbilt married the 9th Duke in 1895. But, as noted below, she was not the only aristocrat to adopt the typewriter.
The Typewriter and Phonographic World (New York), March 1901 –
Read about the Duchess here.
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