1926 Corona 4 #2K13611
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 01-05-2025 at 09:26AM
Last Edit: 01-05-2025 at 11:41AM
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Description:
This gallery is for Corona Four #2K13611. It's part of a two-gallery comparison of two Corona Four machines in my collection, as indicated in the following text. Notice that the platen and paper table are not currently installed on this machine. One of the two pawls for guiding the spindle on one side of the type cylinder is missing. If you have a replacement part, please reach out! Thanks.
Here's a comparison of two of the three Corona 4 portables in my collection. Both came with a warranty card (is that uncommon?). I acquired 4L00355 on eBay in 1998, and 2K13611 at a local antique shop around 2006 or 2007. The warranty cards imply that 2K13611 was purchased at Littleton NH in August 1926, and that 4L00355 was purchased one month later, in September 1926, at Grant's Book Shop, Utica NY. The warranty card for 2K13611 also has a line of text that possibly indicates a manufacture or receipt date: "268 7948 21M 4 26"; does this imply April 21, 1926? That would be consistent with the month code of "2" in the serial number.
Note also that 4L00355 is indicated to have a 1927 manufacture date per TWDB, but it has a warranty card dated 9/17/26. This makes me question whether the year letter code ("L" in this case) starts mid-calendar year?
Other differences of interest include: (1) 2K13611 has a "Corona Four" decal and no reference to L.C. Smith on the body or warranty card, while 4L00355 drops the "Four" on the front decal, and includes the L.C. Smith reference on both the front edge of the frame and the warranty card; (2) the case style changes from boxy/rectilinear for 2K13611, to sloped for 4L00355; not sure if this is a significant or consistent change for Corona 4 machines across the Corona - LC Smith Corona merger boundary.
Finally, on the 2K13611 warranty card, I read the dealer name as "A. H. Ericsson". I have no way of knowing whether that's correct, but I did find an August Hjalmar Ericsson (1873-1936) who lived in Littleton NH for much of his adult life, and died there at age 62. Littleton NH was a small town with population about 4,000 back in the 1920s and 1930s, and it seems unlikely there were a lot of people named "A. H. Ericsson" in the town at the time. It's possible that I'm reading the last name on the warranty card incorrectly. Also, August Ericsson was an Advent Christian minister, who was considered to be intellectual and did a lot of writing. I could not find any reference to whether he dealt in Corona typewriters, so I might be barking up the wrong tree.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 36
My interest in typewriters started in 1997, when I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia. I purchased and read Darryl Rehr's book, joined ETC, and started reaching out to known collectors. I had several email interchanges with Richard Polt dating from that period. I also bought some of my first machines from Bob Aubert, and visited him at his home twice. After marriage and relocation to New England, I continued visiting antique shops and eBay, until other priorities put my typewriter hobby on hiatus around 2008. I still have my collection of around 54 machines, and now I have a renewed interest in getting some of them in good working and cosmetic order.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Corona 4 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Corona Serial Number page and the Corona 4 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
