Woodstock "Electrite" Typewriter

Woodstock "Electrite" Typewriter

Usage conditions apply
Downloads
Description
This Woodstock Electrite electric typewriter was manufactured by the Woodstock Typewriter Company of Chicago, Illinois around 1925. The Electrite was advertised as a typewriter that made “all typists experts.” The Electrite’s electric motor powered the strike mechanism and space bar, so that each key hit the paper with the same amount of force every time, resulting in uniform letters. In manual typewriters, a soft touch or mistype could result in printed text that was faint or hard to read.
Like many typewriting companies, the Woodstock Typewriter Company went through several different corporate iterations. The Emerson Typewriter Company of Kittery, Maine began business in 1907, before it was purchased by the Sears, Roebuck, & Company of Chicago in 1910. Sears, Roebuck, & Company opened their typewriting company as the Roebuck Typewriter Company in Woodstock, Illinois, but soon sold their concern to the Woodstock Typewriter Company in 1914. The Woodstock Typewriter Company operated until 1950, when it was bought by R.C. Allen Business Machines.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
typewriter
Measurements
overall: 9 3/4 in x 12 1/2 in x 18 in; 24.765 cm x 31.75 cm x 45.72 cm
ID Number
1982.0201.03
accession number
1982.0201
catalog number
1982.0201.03
Credit Line
Esther S. and James C. Henderson
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mechanisms
Typewriters
Computers & Business Machines
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.   

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.

Comments

About 22,000 Woodstock Electrite typewriters were made between 1924 and 1927. Making it quite rare compared to the one million standard Woodstock machines made between 1917 and 1950.

Adam Golder

Tue, 2017-10-31 16:34

Hello I recently aquired a Woodstock "Electrite" Typewriter and was looking for some History on it. It's in fare shape and remarkably operational for it's age. I blew the dust out of it but I'm hesitant to go any further as I see paint is pealing. I live in a very dry climate here in Arizona so maybe the minor rust will stop advancing. My background of a Office Machine Technician and Service Manager from 1968 to 1989 involved servicing of many types of mechanical and electric typewriters. Then came the electronics and the mechanical typewriters died. I have a small collection of portable Smith Corona typewriters, Olympia manual typewriter, Victor manuel 10 key calculator and a old black Victor 54 key and a black Densmore Typewriter. If you have any more history on this Woodstock "Electrite" Typewriter I would love it.

Bill Cooper

Thu, 2017-07-27 08:34

Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.