Who invented the carbon copy and when?
Ralph Wedgwood (1766-1837), a potter and also an inventor, patented a product he called the "stylographic reproduction printer" in 1806. This device required a metal rod, rather than the then popular quill pen, which assisted the blind in writing.
Wedgwood's writing machine was based on the principle that a surface laid diagonally with metal cables guides the visually impaired person while typing. Wedgwood then dried a sheet of paper dipped in ink and placed it between another sheet of paper and the wired surface of the machine. The metal rod of the machine transferred the ink from the carbon paper to the paper underneath, eliminating the need to constantly refill the quill pens with ink.
Ralph Wedgwood (1766–1837) was an English inventor and member of the Wedgwood family of potters. His most notable invention was the earliest form of carbon paper, a method of creating duplicate paper documents, which he called "stylographic writer" or Noctograph. He obtained a patent for the invention in 1806. A noctograph is a writing instrument composed of a piece of paper whose underside is treated with printer's ink carbon paper and a metal board with clips to hold the paper in place and guidelines to make for straight writing in the dark.
Carbon paper, also known as copy paper, was produced as a by-product of the stylographic printer and was not quickly accepted by the business community due to concerns that it might tempt people into forgery. Carbon paper did not gain popularity until 1867, when the first commercially successful typewriter was introduced.
Copy paper changed in the 1860s when Lebbus Rogers used a mixture of soot, naphtha, and oil on carbon paper. This method of Rogers continued to be used until the middle of the twentieth century. Although the use of carbon paper has ended with the popularity of electronic communication, "Cc", which is an abbreviation of Carbon Copy in English, continues to be used to copy and forward the e-mail to be sent to other people.
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