Key arrangement isn’t the only thing modern keyboards borrow from a bygone age. We get the term “shift key” from the way a Remington Model 2 Type-Writer physically shifted the printing bar between uppercase and lowercase. Uppercase and lowercase are themselves much older terms, referring to a 15th century method for keeping track of the little metal letters used in printing presses: Small keys were kept in individual boxes at the bottom of a large case; the capitalized letter were kept in corresponding boxes in the upper part of the case.
The Airship writes about the mysteries of QWERTY, the Shift key, and why a keyboard is what it is.
