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1931 Smith Corona S-C Gorham Sterling Serial # 1004131S 1931 Smith Corona S-C Gorham Sterling typewriter, Serial # 1004131S Alan Seaver's 1931 Smith Corona S-C Gorham Sterling typewriter. 2017-06-29 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Alan Seaver: 1931 Smith Corona S-C Gorham Sterling Serial # 1004131S The launch of the combined LC. Smith & Corona company's first all-new portable typewriter included a window display for dealers that featured a version of the new machine silver-jacketed by the Gorham Manufacturing Co. Estimates vary as to the exact number of these made. Originally, Smith-Corona contracted with Gorham for 175 units. However, demand for the silver model quickly exceeded that number. A few contemporary sources, such as the New Yorker Magazine, claimed that over 1,000 silver models were built. However, a letter written in the 1980s by a former Smith-Corona vice-president of sales stated that only 184 were made.

The sales pitch made to dealer for the window display included the suggestion that the cost of the display could be recouped by selling the silver machine in a regular housing and selling the silver-jacketed panels to a silversmith for the market value of its silver. This may explain why so few examples have survived.

Side note: the model was originally intended to be gold-plated, until the stock market crashed and countries began to abandon the gold standard, making gold less appealing.

1931 Smith Corona S-C Gorham Sterling #1004131S

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Alan Seaver (Olivander)
Created: 07-12-2014 at 11:01AM
Last Edit: 06-29-2017 at 11:23AM

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Description:

The launch of the combined LC. Smith & Corona company's first all-new portable typewriter included a window display for dealers that featured a version of the new machine silver-jacketed by the Gorham Manufacturing Co. Estimates vary as to the exact number of these made. Originally, Smith-Corona contracted with Gorham for 175 units. However, demand for the silver model quickly exceeded that number. A few contemporary sources, such as the New Yorker Magazine, claimed that over 1,000 silver models were built. However, a letter written in the 1980s by a former Smith-Corona vice-president of sales stated that only 184 were made.

The sales pitch made to dealer for the window display included the suggestion that the cost of the display could be recouped by selling the silver machine in a regular housing and selling the silver-jacketed panels to a silversmith for the market value of its silver. This may explain why so few examples have survived.

Side note: the model was originally intended to be gold-plated, until the stock market crashed and countries began to abandon the gold standard, making gold less appealing.

Typeface Specimen:

Hunter: Alan Seaver (Olivander)

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