POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Hammond typewriter with keyboard

Object No. H4161

This is a Hammond 'Ideal' typewriter made in New York in about 1893 by the Hammond Typewriter Company. This firm produced typewriters from the 1880s of which consumers could decide on either a three-row, double shift QWERTY keyboard or this two-row curved one. The Hammond typewriter also had a feature which allowed typists to see their typing by a ribbon vibrator which raised or lowered the ribbon with each key stroke. During the 1880s and 1890s the keyboards on typewriters were not standardised. Typewriters were generally sold to offices which by then had not been staffed with typists. Since the sale of a new machine usually meant training a new typist, manufacturers could compete using alternative keyboards. In the USA as late as 1923 typewriter manufacturers operated a placement services for typists and it was in their interest to develop machines with keyboards which did not require as much training. http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/ergoprojects/dea4702005/hctwebsite/hammond.html Newmark, Craig (ed), 'Readings in Applied Microeconomics: The Power of the Market', p.219

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Summary

Object Statement

Typewriter with cover, 'Hammond' with 'Ideal' keyboard, S/No 24931, made by Hammond Typewriter Co, New York, United States of America, c.1893

Physical Description

Typewriter, 'Hammond' with 'Ideal' keyboard, S/No 24931, and original wooden cover, made by Hammond Typewriter Co., New York, USA, c. 1893 Includes original wooden cover and with printed instructions inside the lid.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Frazer Uther & Co, 1939

Acquisition Date

4 October 1939

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