13 of the World’s Oldest (and Most Beautiful) Typewriters

Some the great unwashed collect baseball cards and others pull together coin . Martin Howard , however , collects one C - sometime typewriters . And male child is he practiced at it . The Toronto - based enthusiast has typewriters that looks like navigation instruments and typewriters that see like scales . But they all have one thing in rough-cut : They ’re beautiful .

The Martin Howard Collection includes tons of rare and historically significant typewriters . It ’s the largest of its kind in Canada and continue to grow as its proprietor come across fresh pieces . While the typewriters sometimes jaunt for exhibition , you may alwayssee the whole compendium on Howard ’s website , and if you really want to you may probably grease one’s palms them . We ’ve hoard a few of our pet for your browsing pleasance .

Crandall – New Model (1887)

This machinewas build by one of the early typewriter trailblazer who successfully sold one of the first commercial typewriters , the Crandall Model 1 . The modeling above practice a piston chamber about the sizing of a digit to type 84 different characters with only 28 key .

Stenograph 1 – Third Form (1882)

The United Stenograph Companymade this stenographwhich might ’ve been used by court reporters . For the sake of speed , several buttons would be pressed at once like a musical chord to present syllable .

North’s Typewriter (1892)

This typewriteris unique for its type - bars that stand vertically above the paper and get around down when the cay are agitate .

National (1889)

The eccentric - bar onthis machinehang below the carriage and swing upwards when the key are press . The slogan used in advert : “ Smallest and most comprehensive double - suit fingerbreadth - samara Typewriter . ”

Lambert 1 (1902)

Ideal for the one - finger typist , this machineworks almost like a touchtone phone with the press of a key send a disk with the characters on it down to the report . The center knob make for as a space bar .

Keystone 1 (1899)

This Pennsylvania - built typewriterlooks almost like a modern typewriter except the type - sphere swings up from behind to mark the theme which roll up from the bottom .

The Franklin (1892)

It ’s funny howthis typewriteractually evokes Ben Franklin — mayhap it ’s the Liberty Bell - influence torso . It came with the motto : “ Speed is Limited only by the amphetamine of operator . ”

Granville Automatic (1896)

This high-pitched - technical school typewriterwins it ’s “ automatic ” classification by having all of the ascendancy decent on the keyboard which affords the political machine that lofty body . Inside it very much looks like a advanced typewriter .

Ford (1895)

This thingis build like a hand truck . It was also the first automobile to permit writers see what they had typewrite , as they typed it . The Ford also claims to be “ the first penning machine adopting aluminum . ”

Daugherty (1893)

Like the Ford before it , the Daughertysported a see - as - you - type purpose . This machine was later overshadow by the famous Underwood which had many of the same features but just work better .

The Chicago (1899)

Rather than character - BAR , the Chicagoused a metallic element piston chamber that moved back and forth for the different eccentric . The motorcar above was known as the “ dress example . ”

American Visible 1 (1901)

This budget friendly little guyis celebrated for not having any genuine key to entreat . Instead , the typist would slide the alloy bar so that its notch lined up on one varsity letter and then press the metallic element grip on the side down to prosecute the eccentric - ginmill . It sold for just $ 3.98 at Sears , Roebuck and Co.