1878 Sholes & Glidden Type Writer #4238
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Mark Schrad (MLSchrad)
Created: 05-22-2026 at 12:45PM
Last Edit: 05-22-2026 at 12:53PM
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Description:
I've been on the hunt for a Sholes & Glidden/Remington 1 for the last 15 years, but only in 2026 did the stars align to make it happen. This one had been in the collection of a mathematics professor at Purdue University since the 1970s, but its lineage before then went cold. That is--until I started digging into the machine to bring it back to functional condition, and found the original ribbon wrapped around the right-hand spool, which was repeatedly stamped: "Maine Central RR, Topsham," with various dates displayed from 1897 through 1900. The Topsham, Maine depot no longer exists, and the line through Topsham has been abandoned, I believe. but I would still like to take the machine to Topsham one day to see where it once lived when it was new.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Mark Schrad (MLSchrad)
Mark Schrad's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 50690
Professor of Political Science and Director of Russian Area Studies at Villanova University. Writes about alcohol politics, Russia, and international law when not refurbishing old typewriters.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Sholes & Glidden Serial Number page and the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
