Hammond Folding Multiplex Typewriter

Description (Brief):

One (1) Hammond Folding Multiplex typewriter

Description (Brief)

New York, New York, about 1923

Description (Brief)

Description: Aluminum frame with keys arranged to fold. Contained in a case. Standard keyboard. Complete with four sets of type.

This Hammond Folding Multiplex typewriter was manufactured by the Hammond Typewriter Company of New York beginning in 1923. The typewriter uses Hammond’s patented type-shuttle and hammer typing mechanism where the printing is done by a hammer in the back of the machine striking a type-carrying shuttle in the front of the machine, with the paper and ink ribbon in between to receive the impression. This Hammond Folding Multiplex contains two additional Hammond innovations. It is called a Multiplex because the typewriter contains two type shuttles that can easily be rotated into use, allowing the typing of two complete alphabets in different typesets on each machine. This typewriter’s keyboard could also fold up to allow a cover to be attached to the base, allowing the typewriter to be carried. The keyboard is in a three row QWERTY array.

James Bartlett Hammond filed patents for his type-shuttle and hammer typing mechanism present in Hammond typewriters in 1879, receiving patent number 224088 on February 3rd, 1880 and patent number 232402 September 21st, 1880. The Hammond Typewriter Company was founded in 1880, and produced its first machine by 1884, winning a gold medal at the New Orleans Centennial Exposition that same year. The Hammond Typewriter touted its superior strength and durability due to its unique type-shuttle and hammer typing mechanism. The replaceable type-shuttle also contributed to the Hammond’s popularity with the ability to print in a variety of typesets in various sizes, including math formulae, special symbols, and foreign characters with an easy replacement of the type shuttle, or an even simpler rotation of a wheel in the Hammond Multiplex.