1957 Tower Quiet-Tabulator #5ST566314
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Kevin Nutt (kmnutt)
Created: 07-26-2025 at 03:31PM
Last Edit: 07-31-2025 at 10:22AM
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Description:
Date of Purchase: 12/07/2024
Place of Purchase: The Antique Markets of Lemoyne, Lemoyne, PA
Tower was the Sears Department store and Catalog company's in-house brand for a number of things.
Sears purchased runs of machines from a handful of manufacturers between Fall 1949 through Fall 1963 and sold them through their national distribution network throughout the USA and Canada.
Manufactured by Smith-Corona and built from Smith-Corona 5-Series "Super-5" parts.
This typewriter has a more "vintage green" color than is represented by the examples in this gallery. I will need to work on adjusting the lighting to try and capture more color-accurate pictures.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
- Manual
- Tower Quiet-Tabulator typewriter at work
- Tower Quiet-Tabulator Galleries
- 1957 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, Page 590 ($89.50)
- 1957 Sears Fall Winter Catalog, Page 708 ($96.50)
Photos:
Hunter: Kevin Nutt (kmnutt)
Kevin Nutt's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 349
With nearly three decades in information technology and over twenty years specializing in cybersecurity, I bring a unique perspective to typewriter collecting that bridges the digital and mechanical worlds. As the son of a farmer-turned-chemical engineer, I inherited both my father's hands-on problem-solving mindset and his deep curiosity about how things work.
Growing up under his guidance, I learned to build, repair, and tinker. This experience gave me a lasting appreciation for mechanical ingenuity and ultimately led me to typewriters. I'm fascinated by their intricate mechanisms and rich history, and by the role these remarkable machines played in transforming human communication long before the digital era.
When not working on typewriters, I love working with my hands on various projects: building custom mechanical keyboards, creating miniatures, building furniture, or other hands-on creative work that captures my attention.
Based in Central Pennsylvania less than 10 miles from the famous Olivetti-Underwood Factory in Harrisburg, PA, I've found the region to be a fruitful source of vintage machines - and so my collection keeps growing.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Tower Quiet-Tabulator on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Tower Serial Number page and the Tower Quiet-Tabulator By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
