KLEINSHMIDT

The Kleinschmidt keyboard perforator is a telegraph instrument invented by Edward Kleinschmidt (1876-1977) which prepares punched tape for telegraph transmission.  A QWERTY keyboard operate hole punches that prepare a Wheatstone slip. Each Morse code of the dots and dashes for the letter is selected by projecting tongues on the key bar.  The centre holes used for the paper feed are punched first, then the lower holes, and then the upper holes.  The upper holes are the mark holes, which indicate when the symbol (dot or dash) starts, and the lower hole tell when to terminate the symbol.  This keyboard can be operated at up to 80 words a minute by a skilled operator.

The British Post Office ordered 20, and then later in 1914 ordered another 100.

Kleinschmidt Perforator (Picture dated 1915)

Kleinschmidt Perforator (Picture dated 1915)

Kleinschmidt Perforator (Picture dated 1927)

Kleinschmidt Perforator (Picture dated 1927)

Last revised: October 11, 2023