By the early 1920's the American manufacturer Underwood had become very sucessful.  Their standard office typewriter, introduced in 1899, was a case of 'right first time' and had swept the market both at home and abroad.  The next 'big thing' was becoming portable typewriters for home use, and rival Corona were doing very well with their 3-bank machine.  By '3-bank', we mean that the typewriter had only three rows of keys instead of the usual four, with a second shift to access punctuation marks, numbers and symbols.   By having less keys, it made the typewriter a lot cheaper to make, and therefore able to sell for a relatively low price.

 

 In 1899, Underwood introduced their office typewriter which was a case of 'right first time'.  Over the next twenty years it became a best seller both at home and abroad.  By 1919, rival Corona were starting to corner the market with their 3-bank folding typewriter.  Underwood wanted a share of that business but lacked the skills to quickly develop a machine of their own.  They therefore did what many other manufacturers did in later years - they bought in a design from outside.  In this case, the design was from a gentleman called Lee Burridge and proved to be a wise investment.  Not only did the Underwood 3-bank go on to be a worthy rival to the Corona, but when the time came for Underwood to produce a 'grown up' 4-bank portable in the late 1920's - the 3-bank provided the mechanical basis.  The 4-bank continued to be manufactured with regular updates until the 1950's !

 

Although old enough to qualify as an antique, this particular machine is in good condition and full working order.  This is no shelf ornament.  All the rubber parts have been replaced, including the platen (large rubber roller), making it as near to new condition as possible.  Included is a facsimile of the original maker's instruction book so that it can be used 'straight out of the box', which in this instance is a period wooden carry case with a leather handle !

 

The perfect gift for someone special, or simply treat yourself !

 

 

PRICE £295