1876.02.05 English
Letter from RMH to his brother Jørgen on pre-printed notepaper
In the left corner: A drawing of the Writing Ball
In the centre: R. MALLING HANSEN’s Writing Ball
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK February 5, 1876
MY DEAR B R O T H E R !
I AM DEEPLY SORRY – AND ALL OF US ARE – TO HEAR THAT DEAR MOTHER HAS ONCE AGAIN HAD A RELAPSE; WE DO HOPE THAT SHE WILL GET OVER IT VERY SOON AND WE PRAY THAT OUR SWEET DEAR MOTHER WILL SOON AFTER THAT RECOVER STEADILY. ON OUR SIDE WE ARE ALL – THANKS GOD – VERY WELL EXCEPT FOR A LITTLE COUGHING AMONGST THE TODDLERS[1]
ATTACHED YOU WILL FIND TWO LETTERS FOR MY FRIEND DENSMORE[2]. PLEASE DON’T BE ANNOYED ABOUT THE GERMAN GRAMMAR. I HAD TO WRITE THIS IN GREAT HASTE. IN ANOTHER LONG LETTER THAT FOLLOWS[3] - WITH INSTRUCTIONS HOW HE IS TO WORK WITH MY MACHINE - I HAVE HAD TO ADMIT THAT MY MACHINE IN ONE RESPECT, HOWEVER ONLY IN THE LATEST FEW LETTERS, HAD NOT PLACED THE LETTERS WITH THE SUFFICIENT MATHEMATICAL PROFICIENCY, AND YOU WILL PROBABLY FIND THE SAME FLAW HERE. – THE REASON IS THAT A WORKER AT MY MECHANIC’S SHOP HAS DAMAGED THE ESCAPEMENT[4], BUT IN A COUPLE OF DAYS THE MACHINE WILL YET AGAIN BE COMPLETE AND FUNCTIONING IN THIS RESPECT.
I AM FRIGHTFULLY BUSY, SO PLEASE SETTLE FOR THIS FOR TODAY. WARMEST REGARDS TO ALL OF YOU FROM ALL OF US
YOUR DEEPLY DEVOTED BROTHER
R. M. H.
[1] The toddlers are RMHs daughers – seven in all, at this time. Within a couple of months, his beloved wife Cathrine – his sweet little Cäthe – is to die while giving birth – and will take two unborn daugthers with her to the grave.
[2] The content of these letters for Densmore (and from) is unfortunately unknown, but it is extremely important. Densmore was the lawyer of Scholes, who produced the first American typewriter in 1873 – at the Remington factory. This was the machine which – completely un-deservedly – threw a spanner in the works for the writing ball. It was cheaper – as far as we know. Sverre: As far as I can recall, the Remington machine cost 70 kroner. The price of the writing ball was initially 1200 kroner but dropped to 150 kroner by the end of the 1880s. At the time of this letter, the price was around 300 kroner, but then it must be borne in mind that the Remington was much slower. RMH had been in contact with Densmore already around 1872 – see earlier letters – during which time he attempted to sell his patent to him or them. But why he is still maintaining contact in 1876 – and the fact that he calls Densmore his friend - is extremely interesting. I wonder if the Remington factory is still keeping its archives from this period?
[3] Also previously, RMH has had to rely on brother Jørgen for the translation of all letters to and from English, because he himself did not know the language (quite odd to imagine nowadays, but at the time German and French and – for a theologian classic Greek and Latin – were the foreign languages people knew). However, here it sounds as if he has now learned some English?? This should be investigated further!!! Sverre: He has probably developed a rudimentary understand of English, but we learn from later letters that he cannot write it.
[4] JMC: From the English Wikipedia we learn that “the escapement drives the pendulum in a pendulum clock, usually from a gear train. The gear train is powered to provide energy into the pendulum, typically using springs or weights. Without the escapement the system would simply unwind continuously, but the escapement makes this motiong periodic, controlled by the pendulum. An escapement is also found in a mechanical watch, powering and regulated by a balance wheel and hairspring instead of a pendulum”.
