2008.002.91

Typewriter

The name "Underwood" comes from John T. Underwood, an entrepreneur who bought the company early in its history. Appearing shortly before 1900, Underwood established the stereotype of a typewriter until the introduction of the IBM Selectric in 1961.The Underwood No. 5 appeared shortly before 1900 and was one of the most successful typewriter designs in history. Millions of these machines were used by secretaries, journalists, government officials, and writers throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The typebars hit the front of the platen making it one of the first "in sight" writing machines. Most typebar machines of the 1870s-1890s were understrokes or "blind writers" typed on the bottom of the platen, and the typist had to raise the carriage in order to see what she had just typed. The No. 5 keyboard types 84 characters. Later Underwoods were superficially modernized, but retained the same basic mechanism. The name "No. 5" was given to some of these later typewriters, in honor of the model that made the company's fortune. The Serial No. of this machine is 1829331-5, indicting is was manufactured between 1907 and 1908, therefore not one of the superficially modernized machines that later retained the model No. 5. The company was eventually bought by Olivetti, and in the early 1960s, the name "Underwood" finally disappeared from the typewriter world.

H-9.5 W-11 D-12 inches