Early typewriter. Historical engraving of the Remington writing machine, the forerunner of the modern typewriter. Although this was described as 'the new American writing machine of Mr Remington', this typewriter was devised by Christopher Latham Sholes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, in 1867. His invention was bought by gunsmiths Remington and Sons of Ilion, New York, USA, and marketed from 1874. The keys were laid out in such a way as to minimise keys next to one another being struck in succession. The layout helped stop early typewriters from jamming. A similar layout, the QWERTY layout, is still in use today.