Literary Piano.
The original name for the Typewriter.
Pianos have been around since the year 1700. Typewriters were invented some 150+ years by Dr. Samuel Ward Francis in Rhode Island. But the two instruments originally shared a common look, with the typewriter's piano-like keyboard that triggered small hammers to stamp out words. While the literary piano was the first gadget on the typing scene, journalist and politician Christopher Latham Sholes improved on the design about a decade later, creating the rows of QWERTY keys that have carried forward to this day. But one thing stuck from the original design: Despite the evolution away from a piano look and feel, we still say we type on a "keyboard."
Source: National Museum of American History | Date Updated: November 23, 2020