E-038
Antique Hammond 12 Typewriter with Curved Keyboard. USA, 1905
Rare and magnificent Hammond 12 typewriter. In excellent condition and working order.
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Antique Hammond 12 Typewriter with Curved Keyboard. USA, 1905
Antique Hammond 12 typewriter with curved keyboard, made in the USA in 1905 and in very good condition. This is a very rare and spectacular piece, made for the German market, which is also in working order. This is quite uncommon as their mechanism is so frail that any accumulation of dust is enough to block it. All its original component parts are original from the time except for one of the ribbon’s reels, which has been substituted. The design is very special and attractive, with the bone-colored curved band with the brand name in gothic-style letters, the complete curved keyboard and the visible mechanism. The typewriter stands on a solid-oak wooden base with milled edges and is protected by the original wooden chest, which is connected to the base by a lock. Riveted to the base there is a circular metal plate with the company’s name and location and a world map.
With an imposing look and a really good working order, this antique Hammond 12 typewriter is an exclusive piece with a remarkable value for collectors.
Hammond Typewriters – History
James Bartlett Hammond was a North American journalist who lived between the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also an inventor, philanthropist and entrepreneur. The invention he is renowned for (and which won him a fortune) was the patent of the mechanism which gave life to his Hammond typewriters, which he was given in 1880. That same year he founded the Hammond Typewriter Company and launched the first model in 1884; the designed was awarded a gold medal in the New Orleans Centennial Exhibition. The ingenious mechanism of Hammonf typewriters is one of the sturdiest ever manufactured. In fact, Hammond models kept on being produced until the 1970s though with the trace of time they incorporated several variations. In the 1920s they changed their name for Varitypier and the first electric model was launched in the 1930s.
