1958 Underwood Documentor #13-8188928

Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 03-30-2025 at 03:57PM
Last Edit: 05-05-2025 at 05:45AM

Description Hunter 34 Photos 1 Like  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

The successor to the All-Electric and prelude to the Scriptor. Ad run f0r 58-60. It was tough sledding to be an Underwood dealer and a case study in the end of an icon.
From Industrial Design 1958-05: Vol 5 Iss 5

"There were no complaints about the old machine: it was mechanically excellent. There were complaints about its appearance: it looked “grandfatherly.”” The Underwood Corporation found this out when its advertising agency, the William Esty Company, took a survey among secretaries to determine why Underwood’s sales in electric typewriters were lagging behind its com petitors’. But the electric typewriter was only one machine among many, and what they found out about it led to a discovery about the total visual image of the corporation, namely that it had become unattractive and ancient, and therefore inconsistent with the corporation’s progressive new planning."

Tell me again about that merger....
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So, so dirty it was difficult to see if the gray and beige finish would clean up. Covers off before ever plugging it in. First step, inspect the cord and wiring and make sure you are not going to electrocute yourself. Then, undo the main drive belt and roll everything over by hand. After this, and only after, plug it in and see what the motor does. Good to go. A super hard clean out and the finish cleaned up way better than expected. She's mechanically sound and a fine typer once again.

Typeface Specimen:

Links:

• Scriptor
• All E is all ugly
• new for 58
• Enter the 'Golden Touch' era.
• 58 still trying to sell the All Electric
• Forum
• Gallery
• German ad
• Testing round one.

Photos:

Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)

James Grooms's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 13639

As with many, the bug is back there somewhere due to an Underwood No. 5. My grandparents had a No 5. My parents had a yellow Royal Safari that I used to index card everything, including a beer can collection. Collection syndrome clue! A casual interest in typewriters started with a garage sale 3 bank simply because it said Underwood on it. Typewriters were found here and there , but I wasn't actively looking for them. The long dormant collecting tic was activated when my neighbors left a Remington Quiet Riter on the curb when they moved.

Typewriters are the perfect blend of using one's technical skills, history and functional purpose. My goal is type tested machines. My interests are not isolated to anyone area. For example, I am a big fan of Smith Corona electrics, mid century electrics and all things Royal.