Paige Compositor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the late nineteenth century, the Paige Compositor was created to replace the human typesetter of a printing press with a mechanical arm. Unfortunately, the machine was not nearly as precise as it should have been and never turned a profit because of its continual need for adjustment based upon trial and error.^[1]

The Paige typesetting machine is notable for the $300,000 (equivalent to almost 7 million 2007 dollars) that Samuel Clemens (also known as Mark Twain) invested in the failed endeavor. Clemens, a former printer, invested not only the bulk of his book profits but also a large portion of the inheritance of Livy Clemens, his wife.^[1] Many point to his over-investment in the Paige typesetting machine and other inventions as the cause of not only his family's financial decline but also the decline of his wit and humor.