Friedrich Von Knaus

Friedrich Von Knaus was the machinist of the court in Vienna, born in Stuttgart in 1724, he died in Vienna in 1789.

This artist worked twenty years on the problem of automatic writing. He has the credit to have produced the first writing androïd.

He also created in Vienna before 1770, four talking heads.

He made several writing automata of which the first was presented in France in 1753.

The fourth writing automaton had significant improvements, it was a true writer able to write lengthy text. He introduced it in 1760 to the emperor François I.

Friedrich Von Knaus
(Doc. Alfred Chapuis)

In 1908, the earl Emilio Budan described, in the Italian review "la steno dattilografo", one of the automaton of Von Knaus as being the first typewriter.

Thanks to his works, he received the title of "Inspecteur du Cabinet impérial."

His fourth Writer was often presented during society gatherings. It is currently on display in the "Technisches Museum für Industrie Gewerbe" of Vienna.

The fourth Writer of Von Knaus
(Doc. Alfred Chapuis)

Description of the apparatus:

The various mechanisms which control the arm and the writing shelf are inside the sphere.

The principal mechanism is constitutes a horizontal roll composed of pins, introduced into appropriate openings.
When moving, the pins press on a keyboard containing keys, each key corresponding to a letter.

After having drawn some characters, the Writer automatically dips his feather in the inkpot in front of him. A special mechanism located behind moves the shelf towards the left after each letter; when a line is finished, the shelf is push at the same time in the horizontal and vertical direction.