Office Boy's Invention

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 9 (Supplement)

Office Boy's Invention

T)AVID GESTETNER, who left a fortune behind at the age of 85, earned it by an idea for more efficient duplication coming into his head when he was an office boy. lie copied letters at the end of the day, and copied them one by one with an' old-fashioned copying press. It has been said that he invented because he hated the drudgery of copying. We do not believe it. Ho invented because he had the inventor's mind. First of all he thought of a new kind of pen to use in impressing wax with any' writing that had to be copied. From the wax original copies could bo struck off. Then he went on to a machine for duplicating the copies, and this was the Gestetner copying machine, now made and sold by the thousand. Thousands of men and women are employed in duplicating the duplicator. One invontion begets another in the inventor's mind. Gestetner, who started in a small workshop in the East End, found that what was wanted for good duplicating work was the right kind of stencil paper for the impressions. Most papers were made of too short fibres. Ho hunted till ho found a longfibred one. He never gave up his business. He was at work till last Christmas; so we think we are right in saying that he did not mind toil. What he hated was waste.