Underwood Typewriter Company
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| Underwood Typewriter Company | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private company |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Founder | John T. Underwood |
| Dissolved | Acquired by Olivetti (1959)[1] |
| Headquarters |  New York City, New York, USA |
| Key people | Franz X. Wagner, "Front strike" Inventor John T. Underwood, Namesake/founder |
| Industry | Business machines |
| Products | Typewriters |
The Underwood Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriters headquartered in New York City, New York. Underwood produced what is considered the first widely successful, modern typewriter.[2] By 1939, Underwood had produced five million machines.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
From 1874 the Underwood family made typewriter ribbons and carbon paper, and were among a number of firms who produced these goods for Remington. When Remington decided to start producing ribbons themselves, the Underwoods apparently decided to get into the business of manufacturing typewriters.[citation needed]
The original Underwood typewriter was invented by German-American Franz X. Wagner, who showed it to entrepreneur John T. Underwood. Underwood supported Wagner and bought the company, recognising the importance of the machine. Underwood No. 1 and No. 2s, made between 1896 and 1900, had "Wagner Typewriter Co." printed on the back.[citation needed]
Underwood started adding addition and subtraction devices to their typewriters in about 1910.
During World War II Underwood produced M1 carbines for the war effort.
Olivetti bought a controlling interest in Underwood in 1959, and completed the merger in October 1963, becoming known in the US as Olivetti-Underwood with headquarters in New York City, and entering the electromechanical calculator business. The Underwood name last appeared on Olivetti portable typewriters produced in Spain in the 80s.[citation needed]
[edit] Underwood in pop culture
- "Actors? Schmucks. Screenwriters? Schmucks with Underwoods." - attributed to Jack Warner[3]
- An Underwood typewriter is featured on Fionn Regan's 2006 album The End of History.
- The poem Underwood Girls by Pedro Salinas is a modernist description of the typewriter's letters as an ode to the potential of words and potential of creationism in the language through the work of the symbols.[citation needed]
- An Underwood typewriter is used by the main character in the 2001 musical film Moulin Rouge!.
[edit] Gallery
 William Faulkner's Underwood Universal Portable in his office at Rowan Oak, which is now maintained by the University of Mississippi in Oxford as a museum. |
 A student's portable underwood 255 manufactured circa 1977 in Japan |
 The Underwood Touch-Master 5 was among the last desktop models produced at the Underwood factory in the early 60s |
 Early Underwood typewriter, from 1923 or later (probably 1923 to 1931). Note that it is missing some decorative touches and its serial number; judging from the number of keys, it's perhaps a No. 4, but it could be a No. 5. |
[edit] References
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