:: Spilt Ink Acquisition # 298 ~ Underwood #5 Typewriter ~ 1923-1931 ::

I bought this Underwood typewriter from an antique store in Lawrence, KS right as the guy was bringing it in. I think I paid $35 or something like it. He said he had brought it from his father's farm, where it had been used to keep track of the farm finances for about ten years.

Here you can see all the major workings: note the absence of a "floor" ~ the keys run on levers under the machine where they manually swing the letters to the surface of the platen. This is referred to as a "Grasshopper" mechanism. If you look closely at the right end of the keyboard, there is even a key for 1/2 and 1/4.


More pics and description after the jump!

The sliders attached to the ruler were the old-school method for creating margins. While the carriage physically stopped at the left margin, it didn't prevent you from typing over the right margin, so you just had to watch your placement. To the right, below the ruler, you can see the switch for black or red ink (see below).

Many of the keys weren't where we would expect them to be. They put the Backspace key where we're used to seeing the Tab key, which is a bonus because you wouldn't have to type the letter again, but unless you had the presence of mind, you might start a new sentence in the wrong place. Where's my white-out?

The spool on the left coils the ink ribbon. This model of typewriter was designed to take two colors: black and red. The black would be on the top half of the ribbon, the red on the bottom. That way, if you wanted to emphasize something, you had to flip a switch to nudge the ribbon up to the red half while you typed.

 The backworks. It amazes me how much they left exposed to the elements back then. Today we're so used to seeing only what we directly interact with. Must've been fun to watch it in action.

 The sideworks.

 Another angle on the backworks. Like a finely-tuned piano.

 Close-up on the brand logo and paper-guide. Had to keep that paper straight.

A little trivia, an Underwood typewriter starred in the high-drama Moulin Rouge! under the fingers of the capable Ewan McGregor. Look for it next time you're in the mood for a musical tragedy. Learn more about the Underwood #5 here.