Friday, March 1, 2024

Underwood Typewriter - or is it a University of Texas Typewriter?

 

Underwood portable typewriter -
Four banks from 1935. G793037  I looked at the typewriter database, to get an estimate of the year that it was created.  It looks most like this one in the database.  https://typewriterdatabase.com/1935-underwood-portable-4-bank.5072.typewriter
This is my mother's Underwood Portable Typewriter from the 1930s.  She purchased it from the freight cashier from the Santa Fe Railroad, back when she worked the third trick at Cushing Oklahoma.  This was Roy Rowe's first wife's typewriter.  She would type up stories for the magazines, True Story Romance and True Confessions Magazine.  She passed away, and Roy asked my mother if she required a typewriter.

Mother bought this typewriter before she was married, around 1947.  She paid $45.00.  Which was a lot of money back then.  

Mom used it for typing up personal letters to friends and family back in Iowa and Minnesota.  She used it on a regular basis until the 1970's.  She also wrote letters on it to my brother Hugh Pickens, when he was in the Peace Corps in Peru, South America.

She would bring it out of the bedroom at our house on 437 Fairview, and bring it into the kitchen to type up the letters.  She'd also use it to address the envelopes.  

I found the typewriter on a recent visit to Ponca City, as I was helping her go through some stuff at her house.  It was tucked away around a corner in its case.  I thought it was a Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine on first glance, but the size of the case was in the incorrect dimensions.  Got it out, grabbed some paper, and it did a nice type!

She gave it to me to take home and gave me the Singer Typewriter from 1965.  The Underwood, or as we call it the University of Texas Typewriter (because it has the "letters" U and T on the ribbon case) has the Upper case Letter type below the Lower case letter.  So I need to figure out how to adjust that.  

It is really a beautiful machine.  I've been having fun typing on it! 

In the meantime, I've got the collecting bug and found a Royal Portable typewriter at a local antique store.  I had to un-stick about 12 typing bars and reset the magic margin on the Royal machine.  

What is your favorite portable vintage typewriter?


 

Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter: 1949 - A-1962548.  Purchased for $95.00.  Some sticky keys, rust underneath, replaced the typewriter ribbons.  Purchased at BAW Resale in Beaumont, Texas.