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1940 Underwood Champion Serial # G1221699 1940 Underwood Champion typewriter, Serial # G1221699 David Kingsley's 1940 Underwood Champion typewriter. 2026-07-13 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of David Kingsley: 1940 Underwood Champion Serial # G1221699 Found this circa WWII era machine listed on eBay in May of 2026. The single picture of the typewriter case showed a tell-tale extra layer, and I jumped at the chance to get a glossy black Champion that might also have Underwood's innovative portable typing stand.

As delivered, the uppercase letters typed more than half a line higher than lowercase, and were completely cut off at the top. This is a known problem that can happen when a key washer is missing from a peg on the carriage lift mechanism. Without that washer, activating the shift key lever doesn't lift the carriage high enough for proper capital letter alignment. After some fiddly trial and error, I fixed the problem by pressing a 5/16" outer diameter rubber washer with a 3/16" inner diameter hole over the peg (see diagram).

The portable typing stand is a treasure. Three different folded tripod legs can be unfurled from the bottom of the typewriter case in less than a minute. This creates a surprisingly sturdy stand for typing, along with a small desk. The tripod legs can be set at three different heights, but I have only used the fully extended position, which works with a standard desk chair. Searching old newspaper ads, I found that Underwood first announced the innovative stand in October 1938 as "the most helpful improvement since the invention of the typewriter itself'. Underwood continued to promote the stand from 1939 through 1941 ("It's the sensation of a typing nation"). Typewriters were no longer offered to the public from 1942-1945, and the case was only briefly mentioned for a single year when sales began again in 1946.

I have a variety of typewriters from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. This Underwood portable is one of my very favorites because of the solid punchy feel of the keys on the Champion keyboard, and the genuinely useful typing stand and desk built right into the typewriter case.

1940 Underwood Champion #G1221699

Status: My Collection
Hunter: David Kingsley (Stickler)
Created: 07-13-2026 at 02:48PM
Last Edit: 07-13-2026 at 03:52PM

Description Hunter 7 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

Found this circa WWII era machine listed on eBay in May of 2026. The single picture of the typewriter case showed a tell-tale extra layer, and I jumped at the chance to get a glossy black Champion that might also have Underwood's innovative portable typing stand.

As delivered, the uppercase letters typed more than half a line higher than lowercase, and were completely cut off at the top. This is a known problem that can happen when a key washer is missing from a peg on the carriage lift mechanism. Without that washer, activating the shift key lever doesn't lift the carriage high enough for proper capital letter alignment. After some fiddly trial and error, I fixed the problem by pressing a 5/16" outer diameter rubber washer with a 3/16" inner diameter hole over the peg (see diagram).

The portable typing stand is a treasure. Three different folded tripod legs can be unfurled from the bottom of the typewriter case in less than a minute. This creates a surprisingly sturdy stand for typing, along with a small desk. The tripod legs can be set at three different heights, but I have only used the fully extended position, which works with a standard desk chair. Searching old newspaper ads, I found that Underwood first announced the innovative stand in October 1938 as "the most helpful improvement since the invention of the typewriter itself'. Underwood continued to promote the stand from 1939 through 1941 ("It's the sensation of a typing nation"). Typewriters were no longer offered to the public from 1942-1945, and the case was only briefly mentioned for a single year when sales began again in 1946.

I have a variety of typewriters from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. This Underwood portable is one of my very favorites because of the solid punchy feel of the keys on the Champion keyboard, and the genuinely useful typing stand and desk built right into the typewriter case.

Typeface Specimen:

Links:

Photos:

Washer and peg position to fix upper-case shifting problems
Washer and peg position to fix upper-case shifting problems

First page of Howe patent for portable typing stand
First page of Howe patent for portable typing stand

Underwood Instruction sheet for typing stand (front and back page)
Underwood Instruction sheet for typing stand (front and back page)

Underwood Instruction sheet for typing stand (inner photo pages)
Underwood Instruction sheet for typing stand (inner photo pages)

Example ad announcing new typing stand ( Walters Herald, Oklahoma, October 1938)
Example ad announcing new typing stand ( Walters Herald, Oklahoma, October 1938)

1940 Christmas Ad (Miles City Star, Montana)
1940 Christmas Ad (Miles City Star, Montana)

The built-in stand was available for both the Universal and Champion models (Sept 1939 , Arizona Daily Star)
The built-in stand was available for both the Universal and Champion models (Sept 1939 , Arizona Daily Star)

Hunter: David Kingsley (Stickler)

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RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Underwood Champion on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Underwood Serial Number page and the Underwood Champion By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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