Computers & Business Machines

• 

  American Model No. 7 Typewriter

  Description

  This model number 7 typewriter was manufactured by the American Manufacturing Company of New York, New York at the Williams plant in Derby, Connecticut during the early 20th century. The American Typewriter Company was located at 265 Broadway in New York, New York, and operated from 1893 until 1915. This model 7 typewriter is a blind writer with upwards striking type mechanism and a QWERTY keyboard.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  American Typewriter Company

  ID Number

  1982.0201.05

  accession number

  1982.0201

  catalog number

  1982.0201.05

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Hermes Baby Rocket Typewriter

  Description

  This portable Hermes Baby Rocket brand typewriter was manufactured by Hermes-Presica, a division of Paillard Incorporated, around 1966. Paillard Incorporated was based in Switzerland, but the factory that produced this typewriter was located in Sackingen, Germany. Hermes manufactured a variety of typewriter models under both the “Baby” and “Rocket” brand name, and the design was so popular that it was licensed to several other manufacturers. This Rocket typewriter was a portable version that came with a case cover and handle. Hermes advertised that the green color of their machines was found to be “the most relaxing to the eye…least likely to interfere with the operator’s efficiency.”

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  1999.0185.01

  catalog number

  1999.0185.01

  accession number

  1999.0185

  serial number

  9041458

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Blickensderfer No. 6 Portable Typewriter

  Description

  The Blickensderfer typewriter No. 6 was manufactured by the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company of Stamford, Connecticut from 1910 to around 1928. The Blickenderfer No. 6 was essentially the Blickensderfer No. 5 in an aluminum frame, and could be ordered with either a standard QWERTY keyboard or a DHIATENSOR keyboard. This model has the DHIATENSOR keyboard, which Blickensderfer called their “scientific” keyboard because the most used letters—“D, H, I, A, T, E, N, S, O, and R”—were on the bottom row nearest the space bar to minimize necessary hand movement. The aluminum frame of the No. 6 made it exceptionally portable, weighing only 5 pounds, and came in a leatherette case for easy carrying.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1895

  maker

  Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company

  ID Number

  ME.310701.A

  catalog number

  310701.A

  accession number

  125450

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Remington Standard No. 2 Typewriter

  Description

  This Standard Number 2 typewriter was manufactured by E. Remington and Sons around 1878. The Standard No. 2 was one of the first commercially successful typewriters, refined from the original designs of Christopher Sholes and Carlos S. Glidden in the Sholes and Glidden typewriter. The Remington 2 was an upstriking machine—the carriage held the paper type-side down—and the keys would rise up and strike the paper through the ink ribbon from the bottom. This required typists to raise the carriage if they ever wanted to see what was written. The Remington 2 had a QWERTY keyboard, and its commercial success led to it being adopted as a standard, even as its design was primarily to prevent the type bars from jamming and not to increase typing speed or ease of use. This model has four keys that project from below the keyboard that operated to stop the carriage at proper positions for tabulating and billing.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  ME.310677

  catalog number

  310677

  accession number

  122901

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  IBM Electric Model 01 Typewriter

  Description

  This electric typewriter was manufactured by the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation around 1935. IBM purchased Electromatic Typewriters, Inc. in 1933, taking over its Rochester, New York factory. After a variety of improvements IBM issued the IBM Electric Typewriter Model 01 in 1935. The innovation of electric typewriters was that each type bar hit the paper with the same force, and that force was more powerful than manual typewriters. This was especially useful in business situations as multiple carbon copies could be produced. IBM continued producing typewriters, including the very popular Selectric model, throughout the 20th century until 1990.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  International Business Machines Corp.

  ID Number

  ME.312858

  catalog number

  312858

  accession number

  169125

  serial number

  27559

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Graphophone

  Description

  This is a business dictation machine that uses wax cylinders to record and play back sound. The basic design for the machine emerged from research at the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., the sound research facility established by Alexander Graham Bell with his associates Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter.

  Tainter refined the design, patented several versions of it, and oversaw the manufacturing of the first six experimental graphophones at Bergmann & Co in New York in 1885. He also supervised the making of commercial models in a sewing machine factory in Bridgeport, Conn., beginning in 1887. In these early commercial machines, the dictation apparatus sits atop a sewing machine table and employs a treadle to rotate the mandrel holding the cylinder recording.

  On this machine from 1888, the treadle is marked "American Graphophone Company"; the governor is marked "Patented July 20th 1886." The recorder-reproducer is marked: "The Phonograph-Graphophone m'f'd by the American Graphophone Company for Jesse H. Lippincott, Sole Licensee/ Type C No. 03042" and numerous patent dates.

  Reference:

  Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1888

  maker

  American Graphophone Company

  ID Number

  ME.287825

  catalog number

  287825

  accession number

  58498

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Adler Typewriter

  Description

  This typewriter was manufactured by the German company Adlerwerke vormals Heinrich Kleyer (Adler Works, formerly Heinrick Kleyer) of Frankfurt, Germany during the early 20th century. The machine has lost many of its Adler decals, but “Imported” can still be seen on the machine. The typewriter has a cast iron frame, nickel fittings, and is mounted on a mahogany board with a black metal cover that reads “Adler Imported.” This machine is very similar to the Adler No. 7, having the same sliding type bar mechanism instead of the usual swinging type bars.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  maker

  Adler Schreibmaschinen

  ID Number

  ME.312845

  catalog number

  312845

  accession number

  168622

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Corona No. 3 Typewriter

  Description

  This is a Corona Three folding typewriter that was manufactured by Corona Typewriter Company of Groton, New York around 1920. The Corona Three was an extremely popular typewriter, produced from 1912 until 1941. This model has serial number 394384, dating it to 1920. This typewriter’s platen and carriage can fold down to rest on the keyboard, allowing it to become compact and portable.

  The success of the Standard Typewriter Company’s Corona Three model typewriter prompted the company to change its name to the Corona Typewriting Company in 1914. In 1926 the company joined with the L. C. Smith & Brothers Typewriting company in to become Smith-Corona. Smith-Corona manufactured typewriters and typewriter accessories throughout the 20th century, becoming Smith Corona Marchant in 1958. After two bankruptcies, Smith Corona returned to operation in 2010 as a thermal paper manufacturing company.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1920 - 1929

  maker

  L. C. Smith & Corona Typewriters Inc.

  ID Number

  ME.326636

  catalog number

  326636

  accession number

  261574

  serial number

  394384

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  R.C. Allen Musicwriter

  Description (Brief)

  One (1) R.C. Allen musicwriter

  Mechanical typewriter with beige body with brown keys. Four-line keyboard. 14" carriage. Keys are musical symbols and numbers.

  Inscription: "R.C. Allen", "Musicwriter" On back label: "Musicwriter Patented Typewriter - U.S. Paten No. 511,941; Great Britain, No. 712,430, Nov. 3, 1954; Switzerland, Patent No. 298,526; Germany DBP 909,101." "MUSIC PRINT CORPORATION Denver, Colorado, U.S.A."

  Description

  This Musicwriter “typewriter” was manufactured by R.C. Allen of Grand Rapids, Michigan during the mid 20th century. The Musicwriter was used to compose sheet music. Instead of a letter-writing typewriter, each key could print a different type of note, which could be raised or lowered on the musical staff.

  R. C. Allen was founded in 1932 as a manufacturer of cash registers, adding machines, and altimeters. R.C. Allen purchased the Woodstock Typewriter Company of Woodstock, Illinois in 1950 and began manufacturing typewriters and musicwriters such as this machine.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1960

  maker

  R. C. Allen

  ID Number

  1984.0914.01

  accession number

  1984.0914

  catalog number

  1984.0914.01

  serial number

  8C-2105274 14

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Blickensderfer Model 8 Typewriter

  Description

  The Blickensderfer Model 8 typewriter was manufactured by the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company of Stamford, Connecticut beginning in 1908. The Blickensderfer was advertised as having one quarter of the parts that other typewriters used, allowing for easier operation, maintenance, and repair. Other features include a tabulator and a scaled with slots for carriage stops. Blickensderfer typewriters also had a patented type action using their patented “type wheel,” a metal wheel containing all the characters which would rotate and strike the paper to create the inked mark. The type wheel allowed for easier type alignment, less jamming, and an easier way to change type fonts. The simplicity of the Blickensderfer made it portable, and this model had a wooden cover with a leather handle for easy carrying. While QWERTY keyboards could be ordered, by default most Blickensderfer typewriters eschewed the QWERTY keyboard in favor of a “Scientific” keyboard that put the most used letters “D, H, I, A, T, E, N, S, O, and R” on the bottom row nearest the space bar to minimize hand movement.

  George C. Blickensderfer founded the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company in Stamford, Connecticut in 1893. The Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company produced nine different models of typewriters, including an electric typewriter, and operated until George Blickenderfer’s death in 1917. The company was reformed as the Blick Typewriter Company for a few years before the Blickensderfer patents and designs were sold and manufactured by a variety of different companies.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  1981.0653.01

  accession number

  1981.0653

  catalog number

  1981.0653.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Corona No. 3 Typewriter

  Description

  This Corona typewriter was manufactured by the Corona Typewriter Company, Inc. of Groton, New York sometime around 1923-1925. The typewriter is a front-striking model with a three row QWERTY keyboard, likely the Corona No. 3 although it lacks the “3” numbering on the frame below the spacebar. The Standard Typewriting Company began producing a folding model of typewriter in Groton around 1907.

  The success of the Standard Typewriter Company’s Corona model typewriter prompted the company to change its named to the Corona Typewriting Company in 1914. In 1926 the company joined with the L. C. Smith & Brothers Typewriting company to become Smith-Corona. Smith-Corona manufactured typewriters and typewriter accessories throughout the 20th century, becoming Smith Corona Marchant in 1958. After two bankruptcies, Smith-Corona returned to operation in 2010 as a thermal paper manufacturing company.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1923 - 1925

  maker

  Corona Typewriter Company

  ID Number

  ME.336759

  catalog number

  336759

  accession number

  1978.2479

  serial number

  590430

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Underwood Model 5

  Description

  The Underwood Model 5, introduced in 1899, is the result of almost thirty years of innovation and improvements in typewriter manufacture. It became the ubiquitous office machine for another thirty years, and its sales led Underwood to dominate the market. The Model 5 became the modern standard of how a typewriter worked and what it looked like.

  The first successful commercial typewriter, developed by Christopher Scholes and Carlos Glidden, was brought to the public in 1874 by the Remington Company. Two elements from that first machine remained dominant in the design of eventual typewriters: the QWERTY keyboard, a pattern of letters on the keyboard, and the telegraph type key movement. At first sales were slow, but the typewriter industry grew as businesses expanded along with their need to retain records, and process paperwork at fast speeds. More and more people, mostly women, learned the new skill of typing, creating a new class of clerical worker, according to historian JoAnne Yates.

  There were a handful of typewriter manufacturers by the end of the 1880s such as Remington, a leader in the industry, L.C. Smith & Brothers, Caligraph, Hammond, and a number of smaller firms. As the number of manufacturers grew, so too did the improvements, including the addition of a shift key to activate upper and lower case letters, the size and weight had been reduced but until 1895, but typists could not see what they had typed until the typed page advanced forward.

  In the early 1890s, Franz X Wagner, a German immigrant, engineered the first reliable "visible" typewriter that allowed the typist to see the text as they typed. Wagner had already designed several earlier typing machines. John T. Underwood, producer of office supplies such as carbon paper and ribbons, purchased Wagner's design and manufactured it as the Underwood Model 1 in 1895. Unlike earlier machines, which had an up strike type bar from underneath the paper, the new design in

  After six years and two other models that improved touch, and tab function and provided quieter operation, Underwood came out with the Model 5 in 1900. Compared to earlier machines of the 1870s, this machine is plain. The machine in the collection was produced in 1910. It has a black frame with gold lettering and stripping.

  Date made

  1914

  maker

  Underwood Typewriter Company

  ID Number

  ME.312108

  accession number

  161692

  catalog number

  312108

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Royal Portable Typewriter

  Description

  This portable Royal Typewriter was manufactured by the Royal Typewriter Company in 1933. The portable Royal came in several variants of the “Quiet DeLuxe” including this model A. The model has the serial number A373262, dating it to 1933. The typewriter has a four row QWERTY keyboard with right and left shift keys and variable touch control.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  ME.334269

  catalog number

  334269

  accession number

  308487

  serial number

  A373262

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sholes & Gildden Type Writer

  Description

  Remington put its writing machines on the market in 1874 at a price of $125. The new Type Writer owed some of its identity to the sewing machines that Remington had recently added to its product line. The writing machine came mounted on a sewing machine stand, with a treadle to operate the carriage return and advance the paper on the platen. Even the Type Writer's shiny black case, elaborately decorated with floral designs and emblems, resembled the factory's sewing machines.

  This machine is Remington's first model. With it, a writer could type only capital letters. A second model, available in 1878, permitted writing in both upper and lower case. From the beginning, the keyboard was arranged in the enduring QWERTY pattern. The designers adopted the layout to prevent the mechanical type bars, arranged in a circle inside the machine, from clashing in operation.

  Although the Remington-made Type Writer was not the first mechanical writing machine, it was the earliest to have commercial success. At first Type Writers sold poorly, although author Mark Twain bought one immediately and described his "new fangled writing machine" in a letter to his brother. Gradually, Remington had success in creating a market for the machines and even spurred competitors to make their own versions. The modern typewriter industry was born.

  The introduction and spread of the typewriter accompanied a revolution in the business world. The last twenty-five years of the 19th century witnessed the growth of corporations and the reinvention of the business office. Mechanized work in the office replaced hand work, as specialized machines of all sorts speeded up paper transactions. New designs for furniture specific to the office appeared. The physical appearance of the office building, the composition of the work force, and the very organization of work itself changed. In opening acceptable— but low-level—white-collar work for women, the typewriter became an agent of social change.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1874 - 1878

  patentee

  Sholes, C. Latham

  Glidden, Carlos

  maker

  E. Remington & Sons

  ID Number

  ME.276068

  catalog number

  276068

  accession number

  54877

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  IBM Model D Executive Typewriter

  Description

  The IBM Model D electric typewriter was produced in the spring of 1967 in both a regular and executive versions. The Model D Executive featured proportional spacing originally introduced in IBM’s Model B Executive typewriter. Instead of every character taking exactly the same space on the page, thin letters received narrower space, and wide letters got wider space. Other features of the Model D included a "control row" above the keyboard that allowed the user to adjust the margins, the tab settings, and the ribbon position.

  Originally founded in as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911, IBM began its venture into typewriter manufacturing with the acquisition of the Electromatic Typewriter Company in 1933. In 1935 IBM produced its first electric typewriter, the Model 01, which IBM considered a commercial success. IBM continued producing typewriters throughout the 20th century until 1990.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  International Business Machines Corporation

  ID Number

  1984.0499.01

  accession number

  1984.0499

  catalog number

  1984.0499.01

  serial number

  83851122

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  International Dial Time Recorder Clock

  Description

  Showing up for work punctually, at an official time, became expected behavior toward the end of the 19th century, as more and more people worked for others rather than for themselves. Not just the work force's punctuality was at issue. Cost accounting and analysis--recording and scrutinizing expenses for labor, materials and overhead--were getting more attention than ever before. Time was money.

  In the 1890s, timekeepers-- clerks who kept track of employees' hours in handwritten logs --found that machines were beginning to replace them, especially in workplaces with large numbers of employees. Thanks to the influence of the advocates of scientific management, nearly every industrial workplace had a time clock, after about 1910. So did many offices. By the early twentieth century the International Time Recording Company supplied an entire line of timekeeping devices, including master clocks, several types of time clocks, and time stamps. Founded in 1900, the firm continuously expanded its product line, underwent several reorganizations and name changes, and emerged in 1924 as the International Business Machine Corporation, familiar today as IBM.

  One of the firm's most popular products was the dial time recorder, a clock that could furnish a daily or weekly record of up to 150 employees. Based on the 1888 patent of physician Alexander Dey, the dial time recorder was essentially a spring-driven clock with a cast-iron wheel affixed to its dial side. The rim of the wheel was perforated with numbered holes. As employees pressed a rotating pointer into the hole at their assigned number, the machine recorded the time on a preprinted sheet and rang a bell with each punch. A two-color ribbon printed all regular time in green and all tardiness, early departures, and overtime in red.

  This International dial time recorder hung in a factory in the garment district of New York City.

  Date made

  ca 1912

  manufacturer

  IBM

  ID Number

  ME.336750

  catalog number

  336750

  accession number

  1978.2237

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Naumann Erika Typewriter

  Description

  This Erika Modell M typewriter was manufactured by Seidel & Naumann of Dresden, Germany during the 1930s. The typewriter is a manual typewriter, with glass-covered QWERTY keys. The Erika model typewriters were made to be portable, and this model is inside a leather case, with a cleaning brush attached to the interior of the lid.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  1982.0202.01

  accession number

  1982.0202

  catalog number

  1982.0202.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Royal KHM Typewriter (Cutaway)

  Description

  The Royal KHM model typewriter was produced by the Royal Typewriter Company of Hartford, Connecticut in 1934. The Royal KHM was very similar to the Royal 10, but notable differences include a lack of glass sides, no scooped center, and covered ribbon spools. This version has had pieces removed so the inner workings of the typewriter can be seen.

  The Royal Typewriter Company was founded in 1906 by Thomas Fortunes Ryan and Edward B. Hess, with Ryan providing the capital and Hess providing the inventiveness. Hess owned over 150 patents, many of which were assigned to the Royal Typewriter Company. Hess’s most noteworthy patents related to increasing the ease of typing, including an accelerating typebar, anti friction roller escapement, Magic Margins, and selective touch control. In 1954 Royal merged with the McBee Corporation, operating as Royal Mcbee until 1964. In 1964 Royal McBee was acquired by Litton Industries, which used Royal as a brand until 1968.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  Royal Typewriter Company

  ID Number

  ME.311043

  catalog number

  311043

  accession number

  136502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Corona No. 3 Typewriter

  Description

  This is a Corona Three folding typewriter that was manufactured by the Corona Typewriter Company of Groton, New York around 1930. The Corona Three was an extremely popular typewriter, produced from 1912 until 1941. This model has serial number 650136, dating it to 1930. This typewriter’s platen and carriage can fold down to rest on the keyboard, allowing it to become compact and portable.

  The success of the Standard Typewriter Company’s Corona Three model typewriter prompted the company to change its name to the Corona Typewriting Company in 1914. In 1926 the company joined with the L. C. Smith & Brothers Typewriting company in to become Smith-Corona. Smith-Corona manufactured typewriters and typewriter accessories throughout the 20th century, becoming Smith Corona Marchant in 1958. After two bankruptcies, Smith Corona returned to operation in 2010 as a thermal paper manufacturing company.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1924 - 1926

  maker

  L. C. Smith & Corona Typewriters Inc.

  ID Number

  ME.330702

  catalog number

  330702

  accession number

  296465

  serial number

  x650136

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Royal Model KMM Typewriter

  Description

  The Royal Typewriter Company manufactured this Royal Magic Margin typewriter around 1940. The typewriter’s patented Magic Margin design allowed the typist to set both the left and right hand margins with a simple push of a lever. With easy margin-switching, the Royal KMM could easily address envelopes, tabulate figures, and create tables.

  The Royal Typewriter Company was founded in 1906 by Thomas Fortunes Ryan and Edward B. Hess, with Ryan providing the capital and Hess providing the inventiveness. Hess owned over 150 patents, many of which were assigned to the Royal Typewriter Company. Hess’s most noteworthy patents related to increasing the ease of typing, including an accelerating typebar, anti friction roller escapement, Magic Margins, and selective touch control.

  date made

  1940

  maker

  Royal Typewriter Company

  ID Number

  ME.311904

  accession number

  156624

  catalog number

  311904

  serial number

  2557008

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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