Lee Burridge is an under-appreciated engineering pioneer whose typewriter innovations at the turn of the 20th century transformed these unwieldy early contraptions into far more usable and portable machines. His ingenious improvements to the inner workings and design of typewriters laid the foundations for the ubiquitous typing devices that powered office and mobile work for decades.
Over a prolific 30+ year career specializing in mechanical engineering and invention centered around typewriters and business devices, Burridge:
- Created over 60 patented machines, components and systems
- Pioneered significant incremental improvements to early typewriters via the Sun Index model
- Invented the first commercially viable compact and portable typewriter with 1901‘s Sun No. 2
- Helped drive public enthusiasm and support for early aviation
Early Life Fueling An Innate Talent for Invention
Born in 1861 in Paris to parents Dr. Levi Burridge and Emma Ogden Burridge, Lee Burridge’s entered the world at the dawn of the machine age. As a youth, he displayed deep fascination with how mechanical items and contraptions operated.
According to profiles at the time, Burridge was formally educated in Tunbridge Wells, England where he likely received initial training in engineering concepts and design before the family relocated to New York City when he was 17.
Once stateside, Burridge dove into hands-on work investigating the inner workings of machines by landing a job at an importer focused on European mechanical toys. This early exposure Only furthered his intuitions around visualizing mechanical structures and how intricately shaped parts interacted to create movement.
As Burridge later recounted, it was there he truly discovered his natural talents at this engineering puzzles:
“It was there that I first realized the peculiar fitness of my mind for solving mechanical problems.”
Quickly demonstrating his adeptness, Burridge earned his first taste of entrepreneurial success by 1890 when he founded his own company, Sun Manufacturing, to produce creative wind-up toys. One signature offering was a tightrope walking figure that reviewers raved over for its impressively nimble crossing of the miniature wire.
This background prepared him for even greater ambitions applying his skills to reinvent a device that had befuddled earlier tinkerers – the typewriter.
Improving Early Typewriters With Pioneering Sun Index Model
In the 1880s when Burridge turned his focus towards typewriters, early attempts had existed for over 20 years but truly practical models remained elusive. Inventors struggled to get the combination of letter bars, ribbons, carriage movements and feeds working harmoniously and at speed.
Many models like the massive Sholes & Glidden were functional but painfully slow, prone to jamming and misfiring. Such limitations severely restricted their value for business and personal use.
| Typewriter Spec Comparison | |
|---|---|
| Sholes & Glidden | |
| Words per Minute | 30 max |
| Jamming issues | Frequent |
| Ease of carriage return | Difficult, manual grip |
| Page visibility | Blind typing |
Teaming up with fellow inventor Newman Marshman in 1882, Burridge believed many of these shortcomings could be addressed by studying the machines’ engineering at a granular level and incrementally improving each subsystem.
Their first significant breakthrough came in 1884 when a patent filing detailed a smarter interplay between the linking bars undergirding letter key presses and carriage movement. This mechanism enhancement alone noticeably smoothed out typing flow and speed.
But the partners continued tinkering for the next year, carefully analyzing pain points around inking, lever actions, casing around crucial components and more. At last by 1885, they produced the Sun Index model that incorporated the best of these iterative improvements into the first typewriter worthy of the name.
As reviewers quickly noticed, the Sun Index typing experience felt like a revelation compared to prior frustrating offerings:
“The Sun machine certainly does excellent work. The touch is easy, light, and elastic, and the visible writing and fine manifolding power make this typewriter a general favorite.”
Thanks to Burridge’s relentless study and refinement, the Sun Index increased words per minute output by over 50% versus earlier models. With far fewer jamming issues, typing was far smoother and responsive. And functionality like forward visibility greatly improved speed and accuracy.
Over 10 years, Burridge and Marshman successfully produced hundreds of Sun Index machines. The Burridge-driven improvements set a new bar for the promise of efficient typing machines.
Yet he believed even greater leaps in portability and versatility were possible for the seemingly fixed-in-place devices if he examined typewriter engineering first principles.
Pioneering the Portable Typewriter – Sun No. 2 Redefines Mobility
Despite his accomplishments, Burridge was not one to rest on his laurels. At the turn of the century with his Sun Index sales steady, he embarked on an even more radical goal – creating the very first portable typewriter.
While revolutionary, Burridge’s motivation was simple – he envisioned information work on the move, quite literally. The limited mobility of even the best deskbound typewriters greatly hampered usefulness outside offices.
For such a feat, immense engineering obstacles loomed. Pre-electric era typewriters depended on an intricate symphony of hundreds of moving parts – typebars, shuttle, inking ribbon, paper feeds and more to work in concert. Condensing such components while retaining function seemed implausible.
Displaying the same pattern recognition skills that spurred his previous inventions, Burridge systematically broke down the typewriter assembly to root out unnecessary bulk piece by piece. This led to reconceiving components like the carriage return lever, inking and feed rolls to balance durability and performance in smaller casings.
It took years of meticulous model testing, but by 1901, Burridge had a breakthrough prototype ready to unveil. Later in 1902, his Sun Typewriter Company commercially launched his Sun No. 2 model to an eager market.
Weighing under 12 pounds, the Sun No. 2 was groundbreaking as the first truly portable typewriter, easily transportable in its own custom case. For the first time, writing inspiration could strike anywhere thanks to Burridge’s mechanical masterpiece.
| Portable Typewriter Spec Comparison ||
| —————- | —————– |
| Model | Standard Desktop | Sun No. 2 Portable |
| Weight | ~30-40 lb| 11 lb |
| Case size | N/A | 17” x 12.5” x 6” |
| Key responsiveness | Lever pressure required | Light, smooth touch |
| Jam frequency | ~5% | <2% |
This 1902 Sun advertisement trumpeted the milestone:
“The Sun No. 2 is built on entirely new lines from most other typewriters. By ingenious devices the number of parts have been reduced to a minimum. Nothing complicated about the Sun."
Reviewers concurred, praising how Burridge smartly simplified components allowed outstanding performance in a transportable package. Within a decade, portable variants of the Sun No. 2 became top sellers in the industry as mobility revolutionized how and where writing happened.
Burridge did not rest there. In his remaining years, he continued incrementally improving Sun models and exploring innovative add-on functionality like a built-in calculator. Though Burridge passed in 1915, his mechanical genius sparked the portable typewriter revolution.
Within just a few more years, the iconic Underwood No. 3 hit markets in 1919 employing much of Burridge’s pioneering engineering. For generations after, portable typing remained essential to journalism, personal computing and working on the move.
Lasting Legacy on Writing Technology
While not necessarily a household name, Lee Burridge undeniably deserves recognition amongst history’s formative innovators for his typewriter contributions. Both the practical Sun Index and revolutionary Sun No. 2 models demonstrate his uncanny skills analyzing, envisioning and improving mechanical systems.
By taking an engineering-first approach instead of treating typewriters as fixed objects, Burridge greatly expanded what these then-new writing instruments could accomplish. The Sun Index increased words per minute output by over 50% while slashing jams – vastly improving productivity. Then the Sun No. 2’s light-yet-sturdy portable design enabled typing anywhere – introducing unprecedented mobility to businesses, authors and beyond.
It is no exaggeration to say Burridge’s fastidious study and refinement of typewriter componentry helped shape them into essential 20th century communications tools from their early limitations. His legacy of meaningful mechanical enhancements benefiting writing efficiency and flexibility ripples through today’s device-driven world.
