“Keep out of the ruts”

“Why not get out of the pen rut?” asks a 1903 advertisement in Bradshaw’s Monthly for the Bar-Lock typewriter. What distinguishes the ad is its striking Art Nouveau–influenced illustration, featuring modern, mechanized imagery with large, bulbous hand-drawn letters. The illustration may be the work of Orson Byron Lowell, who apparently signed his commercial work with initials, though more typically he signed his illustrations as “Orson Lowell.” The attribution here remains tentative. A second Bar-Lock advertisement, published in Pall Mall Magazine (April 1903), develops the same visual language, depicting a typewriter balloon pulling “a long way ahead” of the competition.

While the images may seem quaint in the 21st century, the advertisements position the Bar-Lock typewriter as cutting-edge technology. In the early 20th century, many manufacturers continued to push older designs (i.e., “blind machines”), while Bar-Lock offered visible typing. “The Royal Bar-Lock, with its writing always in sight, got out of the rut into which typewriter makers had fallen — got out of the rut of hidden writing, lift-up-the-paper-to-see-what-you-are-doing machines.” Bar-Lock was ultimately a modestly successful enterprise.

Click the images below to view larger versions.

Note: The image at the top of this post was augmented using AI, isolating and completing the illustration of the typewriter-car.

The complete ad, with several pages of text, can be found here.

The complete ad, with several pages of text, can be found here.

Other advertisements (possibly Orson Byron Lowell):

MacMillan’s Magazine (London), November 1902 –

Now, the old man is driving the car. A few years later, a simpler version of the illustration was printed in The British Motor Tourists’ A.B.C. (London), 1906:

Other advertisements (different artists):

The Expository Times (London), September 1901 –

The artist of this unsigned illustration is unknown.

Pearson’s Magazine (London), November 1903 –

The artist of this illustration is unknown, but unlikely Orson Lowell, particularly as the style of lettering is different from his work.

Bradshaw’s Monthly (London), January 1904 –

The artist here may be Childe Hassam, who is known to have illustrated for magazines. However, the signature in the advertisement does not match known versions of his signature elsewhere, though sometimes he used “X” shapes when signing his work.

Here is a simpler version of the illustrations from The Jewish Yearbook (1905-1906):

Less inspired advertisements:

In some instances, Bar-Lock resorted to clipart, as in the following:

Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly (New York), April 1901 –

Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly (New York), May 1901 –

A little AI bonus…

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