Excellently built and designed, the Hall was the first relatively cheap alternative for the expensive typebard typewriters that were on the market in 1881, notably the Sholes and Glidden and the Caligraph. It was a very successful design that would stay in production until the end of the century.
Brooklyn engineer Thomas Hall, built his first model in New York, with a nickel-plated top shield. Later models were covered with blue steel.
Patent model for the escapement system of the Hall - 1878. (Clark collection)
There is a square index card under a frame with holes (picture 5). While shifting the index pointer, a square rubber sheet holding the type was shifted into place to stamp the chosen character when the index pointer and the entire casing was pressed down.
