Typewriters

A giant Underwood typewriter on a horse-drawn parade float, date and location unknown. Mouse over the image above to see a close-up view of the typewriter . . Could this be the same giant Underwood typewriter that was displayed at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which was held in San Francisco, California, in 1915 (see postcard below)?

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

The Underwood Typewriter Company operated an enormous typewriter that was designed to impress fair-goers at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition , which was "a world's fair held in San Francisco, in the United States, between February 20 and December 4 in 1915." The company later exhibited another giant typewriter at the New York World's Fair in 1939 (see postcard image below). Text from the front of this postcard: The $100,000.00 Typewriter An exact reproduction of "The Machine You Will Eventually [Buy]." Westward ho! Over the Rockies we go! On our way to the Golden Gate, we will see deserts, prairies, cowboys, ranches, mountains, canyons, and the wonders of the West! The Orient, the Occident, the South Seas, the Arctic--all the world will be there. Meet us in the Palace of Liberal Arts, Court of the Universe, San Francisco. An Underwood Typewriter 1,728 times larger than the Standard Underwood. Weight 14 tons - 28,000 lbs. Dimensions in action 21 feet wide by 15 feet high. Writing daily at the Underwood Exhibit, Palace of Liberal Arts, Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915.

"The 14-Ton Giant Underwood Master, operating daily at the New York World's Fair, 1939. Underwood Elliott Fisher Company. Underwood, Elliott-Fisher, Sundstrand, Speed the World's Business, One Park Avenue, New York." As this linen postcard suggests, a huge Underwood typewriter attracted visitors at the New York World's Fair in 1939. For some amazing photographs of the oversized machine, see The Giant Underwood Master Typewriter , a posting on the History By Zim blog. Underwood Elliott-Fisher (originally the Underwood Typewriter Company ) also displayed a giant typewriter at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 (see postcard image below). Printed on the back of this postcard: The Giant Underwood Master Typewriter The Largest in the World Operates daily at the Underwood Elliott Fisher Exhibit in the Business Systems and Insurance Building at the New York World's Fair. This huge machine, weighing 14 tons, is 1,728 times larger than the regular Underwood Master. It required 3 years to build. Each typebar weighs 45 pounds and the carriage alone weighs 3,500 pounds. Letters are typed on "stationery" measuring 9 by 12 feet, and the ribbon in the machine is 100 feet long and five inches wide. Two box cars were required to transport the Giant to the World's Fair.

A vinegar valentine postcard dating to the time when "typewriter" (rather than typist) was commonly used to refer to the person doing the typing as well as to the machine itself. Typewriter About grammar and spelling Just nothing you know, And the letters you type Are a scandalous show!

A colorful touch typing chart on heavy cardboard with an attached easel on back that allows you to place it upright on your desk while you learn to type with your new 1959 Remington portable typewriter. Remington Color-Key Touch Typing Chart Here is exactly the same type of keyboard chart found in typing classes in leading schools and colleges throughout the country. Use this chart with the Touch Typing Instruction Booklet packed with your Remington Portable. This approved typing course is the fastest, easiest-to-lean of any because it relies on simple visual methods. You will actually be typing sentences after just a few hours of practice.

Printed on the back of this postcard: "For over twenty years there has been no change in the method of cleaning type and platens on typewriters, rubber stamps, duplicators, etc. Here at last is the most modern way, the easy way, the last word in efficient ways to clean type, recondition platens, and at the same time free sticky keys or gummed parts."

An advertising postcard for a deluxe Olympia typewriter model, nicely accented with a dog figurine, pretty flowers, and a rattan window shade. Printed on the back: "Olympia offers instrument precision and classical beauty to give you the most modern portable for many years of enjoyment and trouble-free service. The most advanced premium features are standard equipment (at no extra charge) on the Olympia model SM3 DeLuxe...."

An 1890 billhead for the Type-Writer's Exchange, a used office equipment store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. See also an enlargement of the World Type Writer logo that appears in the upper left-hand corner of the billhead. The Type-Writer's Exchange . Second-hand type-writers and office equipment bought, sold, or exchanged. 46 South Fourth Street 1212 Market Street, Philadelphia, Jan. 16/90. Sold to E. W. Lapp, 1 letter press & stand, $4.00. Terms cash. Received payment. Typewriter Exchange per S. A. Smith. Logo: World Type Writer, $8.00. Rapid. Durable. Practical. Simple.

The World Type Writer logo from The Type-Writer's Exchange Billhead, Philadelphia, Pa., 1890 . World Type Writer, $8.00 Rapid. Durable. Practical. Simple.

What kid wouldn't want a Simplex toy typewriter that's endorsed by Santa and works well enough to "write a good business letter"? If you're not convinced yet, take a look at the other side of this advertising card to see samples of the typewriting. For a later Santa Simplex ad, see Santa's Favorite Simplex Typewriters, 1908 . Simplex Typewriters $1.00 up. Novel and useful holiday gifts. Anyone can use them. My dear child, Come and see my grand display, more wonderful than your wildest dream of Fairy Land. Yours for fun, Santa. At my headquarters. Walter S. Calvert, 3 Main St., New London, Conn. Nicely finished machines that will write a good business letter and machines so simple a child learning its first letters will be helped. Presents that please and benefit the user and reflect credit on the giver.

See also the front of this Simplex Typewriter advertisement. For a later die-cut ad, see Santa's Favorite Simplex Typewriters, 1908 . Walter S. Calvert, 3 Main St., New London, Conn. Toys, Dolls, and Games. Sample of work of Simplex No. 1, $1.00 Dear old Santa, Please I want the 1905 typewriter. This one will be fine for cousin Jim. Sample of work of Simplex No. 2½, $2.50. Dear Gladys, I am delighted with my Simplex and do so love writing to you: Are you not to get one? Sample of work of Simplex No. 5, $5.00 Dear Father: This is in all essentials an efficient typewriter and is easy to operate. Thanks. Frank. (see other side )

"Simplex Typewriters, $1.00, $2.50, $5.00. The most instructive and useful gift possible to give any child, boy or girl. Come at once to see them demonstrated at E. Schneider & Sons Co., 80 Bergenline Ave., Hudson Hill, N.J." If you have any interest in the history of typewriters—or vintage ads, photos, and ephemera related to typewriters—then you may want to track down a copy of the recently published book, The Typewriter: A Graphic History of the Beloved Machine (Calgary, Alberta: Uppercase Publishing, 2015), by Janie Vangool (full disclosure: my name appears in a list of supporters at the back of the book just because I preordered a copy). I don't believe that this Simplex Santa makes an appearance in The Typewriter , but there are photos of a couple of Simplex (Toy) Typewriters (one dated 1910), along with Christmas magazine advertisements, Valentine cards, letterheads, postcards (including a copy of this one , p. 123), manuals, instruction books, certificates, touch typing charts (a colorful example similar to this one appears on pp. 86-87), die cuts, ribbon tins, and other delights. Here's the other side of this die-cut Santa advertisement:

Simplex Typewriters, Santa's Favorite, 1908 Sample of work of Simplex No. 1, $1.00: This machine will delight any boy or girl and older folks find it useful. Sample of work of Simplex No. 2½, $2.50: A neat little note size typewriter that will please Glays or Joe, or Mama for social correspondence. Sample of work of Simplex No. 5, $5.00: It will write a letter like this on wide business paper like Father's. Simplex Lithograph Co., New York. See also the front of this die-cut Santa advertisement:

"Let me take the Liberty to invite you to the Fifth Annual Ball of the Original Ulster Social Club, Incorporated, at Tammany Hall, 14th Street near Third Avenue, Wednesday evening, Jan. 23, '07. Music by Prof. D. J. Lent's Full Orchestra. Tickets, admit gent and ladies, incl. wardrobe, 50 cents. Two gold prizes will be drawn for. Martha. 815 . . . 1905, F. S. Backus" Postcard addressed on the other side to Leon Closson, Whitehall, Wash. Co., New York, Box 554, and postmarked Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 16, 1907. This 1907 invitation or advertisement was overprinted on a humorous postcard dated 1905. A quick search didn't turn up any information regarding the Ulster Social Club, but Wikipedia Commons has an image of Tammany Hall as it appeared in 1914.

To deliver toy Simplex Typewriters in 1911, Santa Claus left his sleigh and reindeer at the North Pole and somehow constructed an airplane out of a Christmas tree. Or at least that's what this advertising postcard from the Watt & Shand department store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, would have us believe. For other early Simplex Typewriter advertisements featuring Santa, see: • Santa's Simplex Typewriters, 1905 • Dear Santa, I Want the 1905 Simplex Typewriter • Santa's Favorite Simplex Typewriters, 1908 • Simplex Typewriters, Santa's Favorite, 1908 Your Boy, Your Girl Should Have a 1911 Simplex Typewriter. Christmas presents, $1. $2, $3. No. 1, Note size, has all the capitals, figures, and necessary marks for punctuation, $1.00. No. 2, Note size with capitals small letters, figures, and necessary marks for punctuation, $2.00. No. 3, Full size, has all the characters of standard typewriters, $3.00. Larger, better than ever. Remodeled. Finer machines. More characters. They do better work. More room for the fingers. Easier to operate. With greetings from Watt & Shand, Lancaster, Pa.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of working in an office . A snapshot of a man sitting at a desk in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, on the other side, and the clock on the windowsill behind him shows that it's ten minutes before 1:00 p.m. The larger of the two advertising calendars on the wall came from J. R. Kauffman of Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, who sold "A Full Line of Equipment for Every Farmer," including Allis-Chalmers tractors. The man appears to be holding paperwork or perhaps a book. Could it be an invoice or some sort of business report? Nope, as a second photo reveals, the man is opening Christmas presents, and that's evidently a gift box that he's holding in this photo.

A snapshot of a man in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, and the man has evidently just unwrapped a Christmas present and is examining a necktie that he received as a gift. Another photo of the same man shows him holding a gift box.