1867

I guess you might be wondering why the description of my blog says "A journey through 1867." Well, no, this is not a magazine about 1867 -in fact, I'm not sure I know of any major events that happened during 1867 (Wikipedia just informed me that it was the year when African Americans gained voting rights in D.C. and Alaska was purchased from Russia). No, this is not a magazine taking place in 1867. No, it is not about African Americans gaining voting rights in D.C., although I think that'd be a very good topic to explore in a magazine -in 1867, I mean. And now I'm starting to realize I've already said that I'll be creating a literary magazine, which makes all these options I just listed very unlikely to have crossed your mind.

1867 has become a big topic in this post, so fun fact:
it is a prime number.

So the most likely option: no, this is not a magazine about literature in the 1867 or how certain literary movements were happening during mid-nineteenth century (and that's realism, in case you're wondering). This is just a literary magazine that I decided to title 1867.

Why? Why not, I ask you. Well, there is a why yes and it's very simple: Typewriters had been around the world, being created, un-created, improved, since the 16th century. The first record of an "impressing machine" is in 1575, from the Italian Francesco Rampazzetto, followed by Henry Mill, who actually obtained a patent for his machine. But the creation of the typewriter is widely attributed to Christopher Latham Sholes; his patent is from 1866, but the machine became commercially sold and successful in 1867.

Evolution of typewriters for you. Look how beautiful they are.

One of my greatest wishes since I was a kid was to own a typewriter. My grandfather owns one and I remember one day he actually let me use it -actually type on it and play around! As far as I remember it, it was an awesome experience - even though the keys were hard to press, I kept messing up, and refilling the paper was a very tricky process. But it was something that, for me, as a little child, was magical. I was playing with a grown-up toy and my grandpa kept saying that I was doing "all right." I don't know if that moment contributed to my later on developed fondness of writing and desire to become a writer, but I choose to believe so. I still wish to buy a typewriter one day, even though I know is much easier to just type on my computer, or even own my smartphone, just because of the experience it provides. Because it is an special experience. The invention of the typewriter marked a time where humanity went from having to hand write every single piece of document, legislation, letter, prose, poetry, magazine to having the luxury of a tool to make all that easier. It went from wanting-to-kill-themselves-from-sore-hands to relaxed-hands-and-130-words-per-minute. As many older inventions, most people nowadays take typewriters for granted, just like the wheels or skyscrapers - they have been around for a long time now, and newer, better versions are being built every second. We often forget that we started somewhere: from a simple idea of a simple man on a far away, simple place. We often forget that there was a spark that started this fire, and without this spark there wouldn't be fire today.

"The Typing Life - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/04/09/the-typing-life>. 

"Typewriter." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter>.

"Christopher Latham Sholes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Latham_Sholes#Inventing_the_typewriter>.

"The Evolution of the Typewriter." The Coolector Online Mens Lifestyle Magazine Design Gear Fashion. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://www.thecoolector.com/evolution-typewriter/>.